


Compelled

by dudeandduchess



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, Lemon, Romance, future!Au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:00:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 43,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9460244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dudeandduchess/pseuds/dudeandduchess
Summary: There were three things in life that she wanted for herself, but none of them included having to marry Tsukishima Kei or staying with him for any prolonged period of time; but it was so difficult as she had no choice in the matter. Her only option now was to either fake it or to let herself fall in love with the overly tall megane.





	1. Emotions

There were three things in life that (y/n) (l/n) wanted: a career in the medical field, to travel to different places whenever she wanted, and to have all of that by the time she was in her late twenties; but it wasn’t in her plans to be engaged at sixteen and be expected to marry the despicable stoic male that she was tied to for the rest of her life, unless she wanted to be disowned by her family and potentially risk not getting any financial support for med school.

“Oi, (l/n),” the tall, blond male muttered dejectedly as he followed the shorter, (h/c) haired girl to the school gates. It was bad enough that they were forced to spend a few hours every Sunday together, but it was worse that they had to be around each other eight hours a day, for five days straight; as if that wasn’t torture enough already.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, steeling herself for another round of verbal sparring from Tsukishima Kei himself. “I’m your fiancée, Kei-kun, have some respect. I’m not some common whore on the street.”

“Really? I never would have known if you hadn’t told me,” Tsukishima answered, tone asinine as he smirked at the now irate girl.

“I’ve told you countless times. I knew you were a little slow, but I didn’t know you were hard of hearing as well,” the girl remarked, turning her attention away from the blond walking beside her and looking around for any sign of her friends. When she spotted her group of friends huddled together near the main entrance, she ran towards them and left Tsukishima in the dust. “Mai-chan! Aki-chan! Yumi-chan!”

“I see that you’ve been getting along well with your husband-to-be,” Mai teased, grinning at the sour look that appeared on her friend’s face.

(Y/n) wrinkled her nose in distaste before shaking her head. “You guys would not believe how I spent my Sunday.”

“Playing with your dolls and pretending to play house? I’d believe that since you’re so childish,” Tsukishima cut in snarkily, chuckling as he walked off; Yamaguchi running to catch up to him from the school gates.

“Oh, go talk to your dinosaur dolls, Kei-kun,” the short, (h/c) haired girl retorted, waving at Yamaguchi as he passed by her. “So, guess how I spent my Sunday.”

“The same thing as you do every Sunday? Spend time with Tsukishima-kun?” Yumi pondered as she wrapped an arm around (y/n)’s shoulders and shook her from side to side. “When will you get used to him?”

From where she stood, Aki nodded brusquely. “Yeah, you’ve been engaged for two years now, when will you start liking him?”

(Y/n) sighed, frowning as she looked down at her feet before looking at each of her friends. “I know, and I’m sorry that I keep complaining about him, it’s just… complaining about him makes me feel better.”

Before any of them could reply to (y/n)’s confession, the bell rang—signaling the start of morning classes—which had the girls scrambling to get inside and change their shoes before running up to their respective classrooms.

***

By the time lunch time came, (y/n) was close to gnawing her own arm off out of hunger. She knew she should have eaten breakfast, but her mother had been hounding her to head to school since she was going to be late, and she’d forgotten to take her bento after rushing so much; so now, she was stuck with the sole option of foraging the long line in the cafeteria and buying food.

“Hey, (y/n), come on or there won’t be any food left,” Aki waved her over as she walked out of the classroom.

(Y/n) got up from her seat, and was about to follow her friend, when a bento was laid on her desk by none other than her fiancé himself. “Kei-kun?”

“Oi, baka, I can’t believe you forgot your lunch again,” Tsukishima muttered, the faintest of blushes coloring his cheeks, which amused (y/n) while baffling her at the same time. “Here.”

It wasn’t everyday that Tsukishima did a nice things for her without insulting her… much; and it was even rarer for the tall tsun-tsun to blush around her. Deciding to overstep her boundaries, she wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed a kiss to his cheek, which had the blush darkening to another shade of red. “Thank you, Kei-kun; you do have a heart after all.”

“Is that any way to talk to the person who gave you food?” The blond replied, obviously flustered and trying to keep up his cold front.

“It is when the person is you,” (y/n) laughed, letting go of Tsukishima and grabbing the bento before running after Aki. The blond didn’t know what possessed him to give the girl his lunch; fiancée or not, it all existed just on paper anyway. He did not care about (y/n) (l/n), not one bit.

He didn’t even understand why his parents would agree to have their son marry someone like (y/n), all he knew was the fact that his parents needed the support of Reiko (l/n), and what better way was there to make her support known than to offer up her only child for marriage?

***

“Tsukki, aren’t you going to walk (y/n)-san home?” Yamaguchi Tadashi, the black haired and freckle-faced boy that was Tsukishima’s best friend, asked curiously. He and the blond were packing their things away and were about to head to the club room to change before heading to practice, but he knew that his friend was sometimes late because he had to walk his fiancée home—a fact that he kept to themselves rather than telling their captain and team.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima answered, his lips twisting into a frown before settling into a neutral line.

Before Yamaguchi could apologize, like he always did, pealing laughter cut through the halls, followed by the sound of a window banging open, and then, “Mai-chan, if you’re really good, then catch!”

The blond’s eyes widened in shock and he couldn’t help but quicken his pace to see what trouble the nuisance in his life was up to now. She was up on her toes with her torso practically hanging out the window when the two boys saw her, and panic rose up in the blond as he grabbed the girl by the back of her uniform and pulled her back into the building.

“Ne, ne, what’s your proble- oh, hello, Kei-kun, Yamaguchi,” (Y/n) greeted cheerfully when she turned around to initially chew out the person who’d roughly pulled her back from no imminent danger.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Tsukishima snarled at his bethrothed. “That was dangerous.”

“Ha!? What’s wrong with me? I should be asking you that; I was perfectly fine until you tried to choke me with my own uniform,” the (h/c) haired girl retorted, placing her hands on her hips and glaring up at the tall megane in front of her. The two glared at each other intently, until the girl’s eyes widened in realization and a giggle escaped her lips. “Wait. Were you- were you worried about me, Kei-kun?”

“S-shut up, baka,” the flustered blocker muttered under his breath, taking (y/n) by her wrist and pulling her behind him. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“But Keiiiiiiii,” (y/n) whined. “I want to watch you train.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Tsukishima answered coolly, seeming to have regained some of his dignity.

“Yamaguchi, I can watch you train, right?” the (h/c) haired girl turned to the pinch server who had been watching the banter between the couple with an amused smile on his face.

“Well-” the green/black-haired male started to answer, only to be cut off by his friend.

“Don’t talk to anyone, don’t cheer for anyone, and don’t even smile at anyone while you’re there,” the stoic male conceded, his mood plummeting when he imagined (y/n) cheering for Yamaguchi and talking to his teammates, especially that Kageyama. He didn’t care if (y/n) talked to her female friends, but it was something else entirely if she talked to other men; he couldn’t have her falling for someone else because he was the one supposed to marry her, it was only that and nothing more.


	2. Cold Shoulder

“ _Oi_ , Tsukishima, who’s the girl?” Tanaka Ryuunosuke, one of Karasuno’s second year spikers, asked exuberantly as he eyed (y/n) who was standing beside Tsukishima and in front of Yamaguchi.

(Y/n) opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a heated glare from the blond beside her; and she—being the rebel that she was—continued her postponed introduction even though Tsukishima had all but screamed at her to not disobey him and his rules. “Hello, _senpai_. I’m (l/n) (y/n) from class 1-4,” she looked up at her fiancé then, smirking at him before adding, “I’m also-”

“(L/n),” Tsukishima warned sternly. “Don’t.”

The blond had realized his mistake too late as the (h/c) haired girl beside him quirked an eyebrow and smiled a saccharine smile at him before faking a pout, “But Kei- _kun_ , why don’t you want them to know that we’re engaged?”

“ _Ha!? Eh!?_ Engaged!?” Tanaka yelled, loud enough to catch everyone’s attention as he hovered over Tsukishima— as much as his height would allow— and prattled off disbelieving comments. “This _megane_ is engaged?” 

(Y/n) giggled on the outside, laughing like a mad woman internally, as the other players present surrounded them and fired off question after question; thankfully, (y/n) knew most of them since she kept up to date on the sport that her _megane_ was so… passionate about. She might not like him much, but they still had to keep up the appearance that they got along. 

“You had a fiancée and didn’t tell us, Tsukishima?” The silver-haired setter, Sugawara Kōshi, prodded. “How secretive.”

“ _Ne, ne,_ Tsukishima- _kun_ , how come you’re already engaged?” The orange-haired ball of sunshine that the team had—Hinata Shōyō—asked slowly, his eyes wide with ill-concealed curiosity.

Sensing that the blond was too irate to answer all the questions, (y/n) took control of the onslaught that she had instigated, “ _Ah_ , well, it’s not necessarily a secret that we’re engaged, but we just don’t like telling everyone about it; and our parents set it up for us two years ago.”

“But isn’t it a onesided relationship?” Nishinoya Yū, the team’s libero, asked curiously; no real malice in his tone as he scratched his head trying to fit the pieces together.

A clap resounded in the gym and everyone froze as a dark aura emanated from the one and only team captain: Sawamura Daichi. “Shouldn’t all of you be practicing your serves?” 

Simultaneously, everyone muttered a quick ‘yes’ and scurried off to their own places, picking up where they left off but now only more unsettled as the dark aura started to dissipate. (Y/n) turned to the raven-haired captain, bowing slightly in apology for disrupting training hours. “ _Gomen_ , Sawamura- _senpai_. It won’t happen again, I promise. I understand if you want to kick me out of the gym.”

“No, it’s okay, it’s their concentration I’m worried about; a pretty girl enters and suddenly everyone’s flocking over to you,” Daichi chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as a blush tinted his cheeks.

Tsukishima, from where he stood in front of his bubbly fiancée, scowled before excusing both himself and (y/n) then taking her to a secluded area of the gym. “I told you to not talk to anybody, and what do you do? Infuriating woman.”

“You don’t own me, Kei.” Usually, (y/n) always tacked an honorific to the blond’s name, but when he started talking to her as if she was his subordinate instead of his equal, all bets were off. She hated how he got all high and mighty with her when all she wanted was for him to show her even a tiny bit of respect and appreciation; this was one of the reasons why she couldn’t see herself falling for the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. 

“Not yet, I don’t; but I will,” Tsukishima answered coolly, trying to act like what he just said didn’t bother him when, in reality, it tugged at the microscopic strings of his conscience; he knew that he shouldn’t be acting like a pretentious dick to (y/n), but she just brought out the worst in him, especially when she flirted with other men. They were engaged, damn it. “So you better get used to it.” 

 _Slap_. 

All movement ceased when a resounding slap of skin on skin reverberated within the gym; heads turned to look at where Tsukishima and (y/n) stood, with the latter’s hand clutched tightly to her chest and the former’s head turned to the side while a hand print was starting to bloom on his left cheek. 

“You know what, Kei? I’m sick of your archaic, misogynist attitude, so don’t you dare talk to me until you’ve got that chauvinistic personality of yours out of your system,” (y/n) hissed, tears blurring her vision as she shoved the tall blocker in front of her before making her way out of the gym with her shoulders back and her head held high. 

It wasn’t the first time that they’d fought about Tsukishima’s misogynist view on the it relationship, but it was the first time that (y/n) had done and said something about it; normally, she would come back with a retort saying that she belonged to no one but herself, but he guessed that he’d finally done it, and he knew that there was a special place in the afterlife for him because he liked the fire he incited from her. 

“Tsukki, are you okay?” Yamaguchi asked worriedly after running over to where the blond still stood still as a statue. “What did you even say to (y/n)- _san_ to get her to react like that?”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” the blond answered coolly, shrugging the incident off as if it was nothing before heading to the court and starting practice; pushing the thoughts of his crying fiancée to the back of his mind where he could dwell on his guilt later.

(Y/n) wasn’t the type of person that held grudges or believed that inflicting physical harm would do good, but that was the last straw for her. She wanted to scream at Tsukishima and tell him that she was tired of things boiling down to him slurring misogynist remarks as it was nothing at all; as if he didn’t see her expression darken with both sadness and anger every time he thought of her as something to be owned. “Stupid Kei.”

So with a heavy heart and tears staining her cheeks, she made her way home.

 

***

 

The following morning wasn’t much different than all the other mornings in (y/n)’s life, save for the constant heaviness in her chest that she couldn’t seem to shake off. She’d remembered to grab her bento from the dining table before she left and had stashed Tsukishima’s bento box in her bag as she made her way to school. She hoped that he would eat the meal that she’d made for him. 

Normally, the short (h/c) haired girl would bump into Tsukishima around the time that she rounded the corner at the end of the street, and he would often be a few paces away when she reached that point, but today was different: there stood Tsukishima, leaning against one of the walls and **waiting** for her. She didn’t know how to feel; should she be flattered that he waited for her today, or should she be insulted that he only waited for her because she had slapped him yesterday. 

“ _Oi_ , (l/n),” the blond greeted, as if everything was normal in the world and he hadn’t insulted his fiancée yesterday; said fiancée decided to go with insulted as her emotion.

She looked away from him then, walking faster only for him to catch up to her with his long strides. “So you’re ignoring me? How childish of you.”

(Y/n) desperately wanted to answer, but she held tight to her self control and bit her tongue so that she wouldn’t be tempted to speak a word to him. The middle blocker clicked his tongue in irritation and, thankfully, continued the rest of the walk in silence.

Once at school, (y/n) immediately went over to her friends who began asking her what had happened yesterday and why the whole school now knew that she and the blond _megane_ were engaged. (Y/n) clicked her tongue, a habit that she’d picked up from her fiancé, and recapped the whole story to them, leaving out the part where she cried because they would surely seek out revenge, and she didn’t want that.

“I’ll see you guys later, okay?” the (h/c) haired girl bid softly, her usual energy depleted as she walked down the halls and ignored the stares and whispers of her schoolmates as much as possible. Yes, she had her head held high as if every whisper didn’t matter to her, but deep down she just wanted to ground to open up and swallow her alive, if only to let her escape this hell. She would give anything for the whispering and staring to stop.

“Uh, hey, Tsukishima’s fiancée!” (Y/n) jumped a little in surprise, looking around for the source of the voice and finding the familiar face of the volleyball captain approaching her. A smile stretched her lips at the name he’d called her; it wasn’t particularly funny, but he could have called her a billion other names, yet he still chose the one that offended her the most.

She quirked an eyebrow at him, amused that a third year like him was talking to a lowly first year like her. “Hello, Sawamura- _kun_.”

“Ah, I’m- uh- sorry,” the raven haired captain scratched his cheek awkwardly, making the girl in front of him giggle when he tripped over his words. “I never got your name yesterday.”

“(L/n) (y/n),” the girl introduced herself, offering her hand out which Daichi took in a too firm handshake that made (y/n) wince. 

“ _Kami-sama_. I am so sorry,” Daichi took his hand away as if he’d been burned and (y/n) laughed. “I’m not normally this… uh…”

“Frazzled?” (Y/n) supplied, smiling kindly as she met Daichi’s eyes. “Kei told me that you’re usually calm and a little scary.” 

“Tsukishima told you about me?” The tall male asked, disbelief clear in his eyes as he stared down at the delicate-looking female in front of him. She nodded, placing her hands behind her and standing beside him.

“I don’t want to be rude, but I have to get to class, so we can talk while we walk, if it’s no problem,” she asked softly, which made the spiker blush; it wasn’t everyday that a pretty girl asked him to walk with her. “What did you want to talk about, anyway?”

“Well, I wanted to apologize because I have a strong feeling that it’s Nishinoya’s fault as to why your secret came out,” Daichi hedged around his real reason of talking to her, hoping that she wouldn’t see through the diversion and call him out on it.

“It wasn’t really a secret, so it’s okay; but we both know that that isn’t why you’re talking to me right now.”

She was smart, he had to give her that; she had to be if she’d survived being engaged to Tsukishima for two years now. “Okay. I saw what happened yesterday and was wondering if you’re alright.” 

Her lips twisted into a wry grin before relaxing into a thin line that showed contempt. “I’m as fine as can be. Thank you for worrying about me, Sawamura- _san_. It’s nothing that some Tonkotsu Ramen can’t fix; though Shoyu ramen is another personal favorite of mine.”

Both of them stopped by the door to (y/n)’s classroom, sharing a knowing look before pointing at each other and simultaneously, “You like shoyu ramen, too?”

“Yeah. It’s only the best kind of ramen there is,” Daichi answered, grinning.

  
(Y/n) was about to answer, but was cut off by the bell ringing. She clicked her tongue in irritation before turning to her newfound ramen buddy. “Damn. I guess I’ll see you around, Sawamura- _san_. Maybe we can get some ramen some time.” 

“Nice talking with you, (L/n)- _san_ ,” the raven-haired captain waved at the girl before making his exit. “We should, we should.”

With that exchange, (y/n) entered her homeroom with a small smile on her face only for it to be instantly wiped away when she met Tsukishima’s scowling face from his seat across the room; it was just unfortunate that she had the seat next to him.

“What? Replacing me already?” The blond male muttered under his breath, trying to get any reaction out of his fiancée to get the image of her smiling because of another man out of his mind.

  
She ignored him, as she’d been doing earlier, and focused on fixing her things for their first period.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how do you guys like it so far? I know, it's a bit slow, but things will get better, I promise. :D The buildup is a little slow, but it will be worth it. And no, this will not be a love triangle.


	3. Reconciliation

Normal couples would stop fighting after a handful of days ignoring each other, but for (y/n) and her blond betrothed it was pushing almost two weeks and they still haven’t made up. It wasn’t because (y/n) was stubborn—okay maybe it was partly because she was—but it was because she still hadn’t heard even the words “it won’t happen again” from Tsukishima’s mouth, she wasn’t even asking him to apologize but just to admit that he’d crossed a line back then.

In those two weeks, however, (y/n) had gotten friendly with the volleyball team’s captain—even going as far as to exchange numbers to text each other on a constant basis—all because of their mutual love for Shoyu Ramen; it had started from there and the two found out that they had more things in common than they thought.

 

 

 

>                              Where are you?
> 
> Almost there. Calm down.
> 
>                        I am CALM, Daichi.
> 
> Be patient, then.
> 
>                               WHATEVER. :P
> 
> I’m almost there.
> 
>  

“What took you so long?” (Y/n) asked aloud, not concerned with polite decorum as she linked her arm with Daichi’s free one before falling into stride beside him. “I thought I was going to grow old there.”

“Pathetic,” the asinine comment rang through the morning air, making the (h/c) haired girl roll her eyes and ignore the tall blond that was sauntering along the other side of the street with Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima could feel the anger and jealousy bubbling up within him, and he narrowed his eyes at his captain before clicking his tongue in irritation. During the two years that they’d been engaged, not once had (y/n) waited for him or sent him a casual text asking where he was; oh, he knew that they were texting each other because his blabbermouth of a fiancée kept talking about it with Yamaguchi, and the pinch server—in turn—told him. It was safe to say that Daichi was not on his good side, and hasn’t been there ever since he talked to (y/n) and befriended her.

It grated on his nerves that he had no choice but to look at the despicable sight that his captain and fiancée made when they walked to school; with her either clinging to his arm or walking really close to him and laughing at something he said. Hell, they looked more like a couple in the short time they’d been friends, compared to the long time that they’d been together. He had no one to blame but himself for that, and he made sure to remind himself everyday.

“Some people,” (y/n) retorted, loud enough for him to hear, as she walked faster and dragged the raven-haired spiker along with her; and in a quieter voice asked her friend, “How dare he call me pathetic? He’s the one who’s pathetic.”

“You two still haven’t made up?” Daichi asked the short girl next to him, taking note of the way her eyes dimmed when he mentioned the fight going on between the couple. He knew that befriending Tsukishima’s fiancée was asking for a lot of trouble—trouble that he felt every time he entered the court with the blond as his opponent during practices— but he realized after their third time talking that she was the kind of friend that you’d just want to hang out with all the time, and here he was.

(Y/n) shook her head, frowning before she sighed dejectedly. “I’ll only forgive him if he admits his mistake; and I haven’t even heard a peep of the words ‘I’ or ‘was wrong’ from him.”

“We both know that he was wrong with what he said, but I think that he knows that as well. I don’t know Tsukishima much, but from what I’ve noticed about him, he’s really bad at expressing himself, especially when it comes to emotions.”

“I…” (y/n) opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it when the spiker’s words hit her harder than a volleyball to the face. “So what should I do? Just wait him out? It will take years before he admits any kind of weakness; it took a year before he started replying with more than one sentence to me.”

“No, I’m saying that you should raise the flag on this one and talk to him about it,” Daichi gulped when the girl beside him fell into an uncharacteristic silence. He feared that he might have offended her and he was up next for one of her slaps; but, thankfully, (y/n) made a humming noise as she contemplated what he’d said. “We can talk about it after school- ah, there’s going to be a practice game today so I can’t-”

“I can wait for you until after practice,” (y/n) suggested.  
  
“But won’t you be bored?”

The girl laughed, waving Daichi’s comment off as if it was the silliest response ever. “I’ll be going with you to practice, silly.”

Yeah, this was asking for big trouble with Tsukishima.

 

***

 

Before (y/n) knew it, it was already after classes and she was tasked to do the ‘day duty’ tasks and return the class record to the faculty room. She’d finished writing in the notebook and closed it, getting up from her chair and walking to the faculty area to leave the record on Takano- _sensei_ ’s desk.

(Y/n) didn’t know what had her feeling so drained, it could have been because of the constant turmoil that her fiancé stirred up within her emotions, or it could be the gossip that followed her practically everywhere she went, or it could just be because she really missed Tsukishima. He might have been very snarky when they were together, but (y/n) still had that reassuring feeling that he was there for her, but now it felt like he was working against her instead of mending things, which always had her thinking about him.

“What are you doing?” She couldn’t help but screech when she entered her homeroom and saw the tall figure of her fiancé standing by her table and holding her phone in a death grip; his knuckles were practically white with the force that he held the device, and his expression was twisted into one that spoke nothing but anger. It didn’t take a lot to know what he’d really been doing, which infuriated (y/n).

“If you like him so much then just be with him!” The blond spoke quietly, the tension in his voice betraying his bland tone.

(Y/n) scoffed, darting forward and snatching the phone out of Tsukishima’s hands, only to fail because of how hard he was holding it; she tripped over her own feet and fell against the table beside her, hitting her hip against the corner in the process. “What’s wrong with you, Kei?”

“You! You’re what’s wrong with me,” Tsukishima answered, his tone raising an octave as he slammed the phone down on the table before proceeding to run his hands through his hair. He looked so distraught that it made (y/n) feel guilty for something that she didn’t even do. “It bothers me that you’re already close to my captain after knowing him for two weeks when you don’t even give me the time of the day… and we’ve been together for two years! That’s just… I don’t know!”

The blond sighed exasperatedly, lifting his glasses from his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He sighed again, and then clicked his tongue in irritation when only stunned silence greeted his monologue; so he looked up to see what had his normally talkative fiancée so stunned, only to see her looking at him with parted lips partnered with a disbelieving expression on her face.

She seemed to be processing all the things he’d said, and he tried to think of a way to get his message across even clearer, only to react on it before he could fully dwell on it and question his own motives. So, he’d cupped her face in his hands and swooped down to slant his lips against hers in a demanding kiss; the first of many.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, hey! How did you guys like it? Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Please and thank you.


	4. Olive Branch

Forget about wanting the ground to swallow her up; (y/n) wanted to jump out the nearest window and try her hand at becoming a pigeon so she could fly off to escape whatever circle of hell she was currently in.

She pulled away from Tsukishima, her face hot with a blush and her lips tingling all because of a kiss; her first kiss, to be exact. Her hands immediately flew up to press themselves against her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at her fiancé. 

The tall blond pursed his lips before looking away from the girl in front of him; he tried to calm his racing heart, but failed. What did people do at times like this? What do people do when their fiancée practically rejected them? More importantly, how was he going to justify his actions?

Thankfully, he didn’t need to say anything as (y/n) grabbed her things and walked out of the room without a single word. If he thought he’d done it when he’d insulted her, then that was nothing compared to what he’d done just a minute ago; so, he shook his head in contempt at himself before he made his way out of the room and down to the first gym for practice.

(Y/n) didn’t know how to react; it was the first time that Tsukishima had made a move on her and—dare she say it—she liked it. She looked down at the phone in her hands and frowned when she saw the cracked screen that was all the blond _megane_ ’s doing, then she opened her messages and scrolled through the messages between her and Daichi.

She had no clue why Kei was acting like a sourpuss as all of the messages sent out no romantic vibes between her and the volleyball captain; most of their conversations revolved around ramen, some conversations were about the volleyball team members, and a few lines were about her engagement to the stoic blond. If Kei had any problem with her being friends with Daichi, then he would just have to suck it up and accept it.

“(Y/n)- _san_ ,” Hinata called out from behind the (h/c) haired girl, making her jump in surprise. She turned around and sent the middle blocker a small smile. “Are you going to see Tsukishima?”

(Y/n) blinked, biting her bottom lip as a blush crawled up to her cheeks when her mind played the scene earlier with her fiancé. “I- ah- no, we’re not on good terms right now. I’m actually looking for Daichi- _san_.”

The orange-haired male looked at her as if she suddenly sprouted another head, and she immediately shook her head to shoot down the blocker’s wayward thoughts.

“No, no, no, no. Daichi and I are friends; it’s nothing like what you were about to say,” (y/n) breathed out in one go, laughing a little when the confusion in Hinata’s eyes cleared up. “Besides, I’m tied to Kei forever, at least I will be after graduation.”

“Do you not like Tsukishima? I know that he’s very rude most of the time, but I think he would be nicer to you,” the short male asked seriously, his normal exuberance replaced by an intensity in his gaze that both unsettled and comforted (y/n). She and Hinata were by no means close, but she felt that his innocent outlook in life in general was a breath of fresh air compared to the wise and all-knowing people that usually surrounded her. 

She shrugged, smiling once more before admiring the lavender-tinted sky. “I like Kei, but I don’t know if I like him like how I’m supposed to; and he’s not nicer to me. I don’t think that he could live his life faking a personality in front of me.”

“ _Oi,_ Hinata! Hurry up!” Tanaka yelled out from where he stood by the gym doors; making the short blocker run towards him with one last wave at Tsukishima’s fiancée. “Tsukishima’s fiancée?!” 

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, thinking that the nickname was getting old already, before she picked up the pace and stopped in front of the bald second year. “Hello, Tanaka- _senpai_. Please call me by my name: either (l/n) or (y/n) will do. Also, I’m sorry for intruding, but I’m looking for Daichi- _san_.”

Clearly flustered, Tanaka nodded dumbly before turning to the people doing their warm-up stretches inside the gym. “Daichi- _san_ , (l/n) is looking for you.”

Immediately, every eye turned suspiciously to the raven-haired captain who was within the warm-up circle. Daichi chuckled and shook his head before denying what almost everyone was thinking, “It’s nothing like that; continue your stretches, I’ll be back.”

With that, Daichi exited the circle and headed over to (y/n) who stood awkwardly by the door. She scratched her cheek as she clutched her phone tighter, thinking of a way to tell Daichi what had happened earlier without him acting like an overly concerned father; she’d had one of those once upon a time, until he turned out to be a lying, cheating bastard. “I’m sorry for intruding.”

“It’s fine. You can sit down by Ki-”

“Sorry I’m late,” the deadpan voice made (y/n)’s heart race in her chest, and she screwed her eyes shut as she felt Tsukishima’s body moving to stand beside her. She prayed that he wouldn’t say anything about her talking to Daichi again, and it seemed like the stars were in her favour for once… until she opened her eyes and saw Daichi giving her a knowing look. 

“What?” she mouthed at the captain before following his line of vision, only to land on Kei’s lips which were smeared with a little bit of lipgloss; the same lipgloss that she had on, to be exact. 

A blush instantly colored her cheeks and she ducked her head to hide her flaming face as she excused herself and practically bolted up to the bleachers; well away from the curious gazes of the volleyball team. She laid down on the bleachers, looking up at the roof of the gym and trying hard to ignore the shouts going on below her; and trying especially hard to ignore her thumping heart whenever she heard Kei’s voice, or rather picked it out among the sea of voices floating up to her.

(Y/n) didn’t know that she’d fallen asleep until she was being gently shaken awake. She opened her eyes and immediately reeled back from the familiar light brown eyes hovering above her. “K- Kei?”

“Wake up, (y/n)… _san_ ,” the blond stated quietly, a faint blush tinting his cheeks as he looked away from his fiancée. “Daichi- _san_ asked me to get you; we’re all having steamed pork buns at the foothill store.”

“O… kay?” She was going to strangle Daichi the first moment she got. What was he thinking sending Kei up there to fetch her? Judging from the knowing look he’d sent her earlier, he knew what had happened between her and the blond, but what does he do? He puts them in an even more awkward situation.

Without another word, she got up from the bleachers and slung her bag on her shoulder, about to get her phone from where she set it down earlier when Tsukishima beat her to it and picked it up for her. The blond looked down at the screen, feeling guilty that he’d broken it in a fit of anger. “I’m… about your phone…”

(Y/n) nodded once, gingerly getting the gadget from her fiancée’s grasp and slipping it into the pocket of her blazer. “Let’s go.”

In awkward silence, the couple made their way down from the bleachers and out of the gym after turning off the lights and locking the door behind them.

 

***

 

Tsukishima knew that the foothill store was only a few minutes away from the school, but it seemed to take a lot longer to get there with (y/n) by his side. It could be that the awkward tension between them was taking its toll on both of them, or it could be that he was walking slower than normal to keep up with his fiancé’s short strides.

In the past, he would have gotten impatient and dragged her behind him like he was some sort of caveman, but right now? He couldn’t even imagine touching her skin without wanting a repeat of that kiss earlier. He knew that it was very perverse of him to be thinking such thoughts, but he couldn’t help it, so he chalked it up to his teenage hormones.

“Where are they?” (Y/n) asked aloud when they reached the store and found no one but Coach Ukai inside.

The older blond puffed out a cloud of cigarette smoke before answering (y/n)’s question, “They said that they were all tired so they already left.”

Ukai chuckled to himself, thinking about how Tsukishima was going to react when—by some stroke of bad luck for his teammates—he found out that they set this up so they could spy on him and see if he was nicer to his fiancée. 

“Oh,” (y/n) sighed, her shoulders slumping before she thanked Karasuno’s volleyball coach. “We’ll be going now.” 

With that, the young couple left the shop and started their trek back to their respective homes.

Not even a minute into their trip, however, (y/n)’s stomach let out a loud growl that shocked even Tsukishima. (Y/n) thought that the worst turn of the day was when Kei woke her up from her nap, but she was wrong: this took the proverbial cake for the most embarrassing instance ever.

“Hungry?” Tsukishima questioned, his voice having that teasing edge to it, but at the same time sounding softer… more affectionate. 

The (h/c) haired girl looked to the side at the question, hiding her red cheeks from the tall blond beside her; it seemed that she’d been doing a lot of blushing all day, and it had to stop, so she lifted her right hand up and subtly fanned her flaming cheeks.

“We can get that ramen you like,” Tsukishima offered the only olive branch that he knew would work, silently berating himself for sinking so low as to bribe his fiancée with food; but instantly stopped his self deprecating thoughts when he heard a silent ‘okay’ from the girl beside him. 

Unbeknownst to them, eight out of the twelve Karasuno volleyball club members were exchanging looks of disbelief from where they hid behind a wall at the street corner.

“So, Tsukishima can actually be kind,” Azumane Asahi, Karasuno’s ace, spoke up quietly; awe clear in his tone as his gaze turned back to the tall blond that seemed to be inching closer to the girl walking beside him.


	5. These Feelings of Mine

Four days had passed since the day of the kiss, yet (y/n) still felt her lips tingle whenever she saw Tsukishima. She didn’t know if that was normal or if her sensory receptors had gone haywire, but her only solution had been to avoid the tall blond and keep to Mai, Aki, and Yumi’s company whenever she was at school. It had been working perfectly for the first two days, until her fiancé began practically pushing himself into her life; at first it had been as simple as waiting for her at the street corner so they could walk to school together, then it had been telling her that he would take her home before his club activities started, and then he started texting her, asking what their homework was and if she was already done.

The first two actions were somewhat normal for Tsukishima, which didn’t have (y/n) fumbling around in her brain for a reason why he could be doing so; but the last one baffled her greatly. She knew Kei, and she knew him well: he didn’t like texting people, he was smart as hell, and he also took down notes for every class which gives him no reason to ask his fiancée about any of that.

The girl sighed heavily, turning her attention back on the road as she pushed her bike down Karasuno’s Heartbreak Hill. She’d gone out of the town borders to get more strawberries for Kei’s strawberry shortcake later for their family dinner, as all of the stores in town were all out; now, her only problem was how to tell Kei about the dinner.

It was cowardly of her to not just text him about it or personally tell him at school; she was afraid that he would want to talk, then talking would lead to kissing, and she wasn’t sure if her heart could take anymore abuse in its current state.

From around the bend, she heard loud cries, which had her scrambling to the side of the road and hastening even further to see what the commotion was all about; she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Hinata and Kageyama trying to outrun the other up the road.

“Hello, Hina-”

“They’re too far gone, I’m afraid,” (y/n) looked away from the racing duo and smiled at Sugawara. “Hello, (y/n)-san.”

“Ah, Suga-san,” the (h/c) haired girl went down the hill even further and waved at the silver haired setter, as well as the other members who were sitting on the road. “Daichi-san is really prepping you guys up for the Nationals qualifiers. Even on Saturdays…”

Suga rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling tiredly before answering, “He just wants us to be prepared. Are you going somewhere?”

“I bought some strawberries from the next town since everywhere here is fresh out,” (y/n) explained. “But I’m on my way home now.”

“(Y/n)-san,” said girl wanted to close her eyes and bury her head in the ground like an ostrich, but opted to force a smile on her face and face her fiancé as her heart thumped so hard in her chest that she was afraid it was going to make a hole in her chest and jump out at any second.

“A-ano, Kei-kun,” (y/n) greeted slowly, blushing when she heard the other volleyball club members snickering behind her. “I…”

The blond quirked an eyebrow at her, looking down at her shorts then back up at her eyes, lingering a little at her lips. He wanted to say something about walking around like that, but he knew that it would just start another fight, so he bit his tongue; besides, it wasn’t much different from her wearing her uniform, right?

“We have dinner at 6, at your house,” the short girl muttered quietly, her fingers fidgeting with the handle bars of her bike as she looked at the ground to keep herself from losing her composure around Tsukishima even more; this was worse than when they were just starting out as a couple.

“I’ll pick you up at your house, then,” Tsukishima answered coolly, his expression giving nothing away as he stepped forward and took the handlebars of the bike from his fiancée. “I’ll walk you down.”

Yamaguchi shared a look with his teammates, all of them smiling those knowing smiles that they’d shared once before. It wasn’t like his best friend to be such a gentleman to his fiancée, so he was wondering what had changed? Was it because of the fight? Because of Daich-san? Or because both (y/n) and Tsukki were starting to realize their feelings for each other? He didn’t know as of yet, but he wasn’t the only one eager to find out.

“(Y/n)-san?” Daichi’s familiar voice reached (y/n), making her look up at grin at her friend who stood a couple of paces away with Nishinoya.

Aforementioned girl waved goodbye at the other players before practically skipping down to meet the raven-haired captain; reluctantly, Tsukishima followed his fiancée and carted her bike along with him.

“Hello, Daichi, Noya-san!” (Y/n) high-fived the libero before looping arms with Daichi and pulling the taller male down so she could whisper in his ear, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did.”

“H-ha?” Daichi shook his head, taking his arm away from the girl clinging to him and stepping away from her. “I didn’t do anything.”

The girl smirked, putting her hands on her hips and staring up at the volleyball captain. “Whatever you say, Daichi. I’ll see you on Monday. Jya ne, mina-san.”

“O… okay,” Daichi answered nervously, forcing a smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck to get rid of the chills that he was getting.

With that, (y/n) started her trek down the hill, being extra careful so that she wouldn’t trip and inevitably roll down. Behind her, Tsukishima still carted her bike along; his eyes narrowed and his lips set into a scowl as he passed by his captain.

“Tsukishima,” the raven-haired spiker called. Tsukishima looked up, his expression not softening as he remembered how his fiancée acted so freely around Daichi. “It’s not like that between (y/n) and me; I hope you know that.”

“I know, Daichi-san,” the blond muttered under his breath, adding in a few more words excusing himself, before walking downhill. He knew that the relationship between Daichi and his fiancée wasn’t a romantic one, but it didn’t lessen the blow to his ego when he saw her acting so happy and carefree with his captain; and it didn’t lessen his jealousy when he sees the smile on (y/n)’s face that Daichi put there.

His aim when he kissed her wasn’t to make things awkward between them, but to let (y/n) know that he was there and that they were engaged… and that he… cared; he cared for her. Maybe it was weak of him to say so, but he had grown to truly like and care for the girl that was thrust onto him at a young age.

He didn’t know when that happened or even how it happened through all the arguments and the teasing, but somewhere along the way he started to have feelings for her; maybe he first fell in love with her looks, then it was her intellect and the way she always spoke her mind, and then her overall stubborn personality, or maybe it was the other way around—he really wasn’t too sure if he was a masochist or not.

Once he was at the foot of the hill, he stopped a few paces away to look at her; to truly look at her and admire her while she was turned away and he didn’t have to hide his feelings for her in fear of her not returning them. She was beautiful, with her (h/l), (h/c) hair gently swaying in the wind, her soft skin just calling out to be touched, and her overall stance that was graceful and dominating at the same time. He wanted to stay like that longer, but he wanted her to turn around so that he could see her face even more.

“Oi, (y/n)-san,” he called out in his normally gruff tone. Just like he wanted, she turned around to look at him and he swore that his breath was knocked right out of him when he saw the tiny yet awkward smile on her face.

She walked up to him, gingerly digging through the plastic inside her bike’s basket and fishing out a medium-sized strawberry. “You can have this,” (y/n) stated softly, holding out the fruit to Tsukishima and wanting him to just get it already so that this embarrassing torture would end.

To (y/n)’s surprise, Kei didn’t take the strawberry that she was holding out to him, but encircled his fingers around her wrist and brought the fruit up to his mouth. “Itadakimasu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, hey. How did you guys like this chapter? Was it lacking? Was it okay? Tell me, okay? Please and thank you!


	6. Oops, My Baby

(Y/n) was torn; she didn’t know what to do as the doorbell rang for the third time in one minute. No, it wasn’t a crazy psychopath waiting outside and ringing her doorbell just to be polite before he hacked her to pieces; it was Kei out there, waiting for her to answer the door so they could head on to his house for dinner.

The way she saw it, she had three options: a.) she would pretend that no one was home and just go to sleep—ultimately waiting for her mother to give her the lecture of a lifetime, b.) she could sneak out the back door and hope that Kei didn’t catch her, or c.) face the music and open the door for Kei, like any normal person would do; but any normal person didn’t have the single most erotic thing in their life so far happen because their fiancé ate a strawberry in front of them.

Strawberries were fairly innocent before what Kei did earlier in the day; she shivered just thinking about the way his lips wrapped around that strawberry and how—dare she say it—sexy he looked doing it. She didn’t think anything was wrong with her at first, as it was normal for a girl her age to appreciate such sights, but to have been thinking about it for almost all day? Something had to be wrong with her.

“Oi, I know you’re in there,” the bespectacled blond called from the other side of the door, ringing the doorbell once more and tapping his foot impatiently. “(Y/n)-san.”

Aforementioned girl kept her mouth shut, cupping her hands over her mouth to muffle even her breaths. Her brain scrambled to choose which of the options she would take and, at the last minute, she unlocked the door and swung it open. On the other side was an irate and close-to-snapping Tsukishima.

“What took you so long to answer?” the blond asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at his fiancée. “You weren’t going to sneak out, were you?”

(Y/n) pursed her lips, looking down guiltily before tucking her hair behind her ear. “I may or may not have been planning on it.”

“Whatever. Are you ready to go?” The thought that his fiancée was avoiding him grated on his nerves, he wanted to tell her to knock off the act, but he held himself back.

She nodded, grabbing the neatly packed cake box from where she left it on the decorative table in the foyer and bringing it along as she let Kei lock the door and keep the keys in his pocket, since she was wearing a casual dress without any pockets.

“Here, let me have that,” the tall blond tugged on the ribbon sealing the box and (y/n) gave it to him docilely, not wanting a standoff between them right before seeing their parents. After adjusting the box in his grip, Tsukishima led his fiancée out into the street and shut the gate behind them. “I’m surprised that your monster of a dog didn’t come running out of the house.”

A small smile tugged at (y/n)’s lips, flattered that Kei bothered to mention her six year old Great Pyrenees named Yuki; Kei claimed to not like Yuki because she always jumped up on him and knocked him down due to her size, but she knew that—deep down— her fiancé loved the attention from her dog.

"I put her in my room because I knew that she would start going wild when you arrived. I don’t get why you keep saying that you dislike Yuki when she clearly adores you,” (y/n) commented offhandedly, completely forgetting decorum and the personal space that Kei insisted on having as she hugged her fiancé’s arm and smiled up at him.

When the bespectacled blond looked down at her, a blush colored her cheeks and she was about to pull away until she heard the quiet but firm: “No. Stay.”

The rest of the walk was spent like that: wrapped in a thick silence but with (y/n) clinging to Tsukishima’s arm; both of them sporting blushes on their faces.

***

“Tadaima,” Tsukishima called out into the seemingly empty home; as soon as the word left his lips, though, a man identical to her fiancé stepped out of the kitchen and ran over to where she stood to pick her up in a hug.

“Aki nii-san!” (Y/n) called enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around Akiteru’s neck and hugging him back. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Akiteru put his brother’s fiancée down, ignoring the irate look on his brother’s face as he continued to talk to his future sister-in-law. “I was busy with work, we have a lot of clients coming in right now.”

“Really? It must be so cool to work in Tokyo. Are you going to take a day off so you can watch Kei-kun defeat Shiratorizawa?” the short, (h/c) haired girl asked happily, as if she was sure that Karasuno will knock down all of its opponents during the prelims and all other following matches to defeat the top school in the prefecture.

“Oi, the games haven’t even begun yet,” Kei muttered, looking away from his older brother and fiancée to hide the blush on his face; the top reason why he never brought (y/n) to games or practices was because he lost his concentration whenever she cheered for him or praised him about his sport. His heart would pound in his chest and his face would feel hot, then he would have the inevitable urge to bask in her praise, so he opted to just push her away from any practices or games.

The older of the Tsukishima siblings, noticing that his brother needed some time to cool down away from his fiancée, said, “Why don’t you help me in the kitchen while Kei puts the cake on the table?”

“Hai hai. Ne, nii-san, is okaa-san here yet?” (Y/n) asked, falling into step beside Akiteru as she calmed her racing heart. She’d never been that close to Kei before—well, she had, but it wasn’t of their own volition; but willingly holding on to him and walking in a companionable silence was new for them. She didn’t know whether she was going to faint from being overwhelmed or faint from the blood rushing to her head.

Kei wanted to say something, anything to get (y/n) to stay with him, but he stubbornly kept his mouth shut as he sullenly headed to the dining area and set the cake box on one of the decorative tables around the room; after doing so, he headed up to his room to clear his befuddled mind.

In the kitchen, however, (y/n) and Akiteru were continuing the dinner that Mrs. Tsukishima had started but had to pass on to her eldest son to welcome (y/n)’s mother.

“Your okaa-san is really scary,” Akiteru admitted quietly as he sautéd vegetables in a pan. “I guess she should be if she runs a conglomerate.”

(Y/n) grimaced, nodding to show her agreement before answering, “She wasn’t always scary, though; she was like your okaa-san before ot- Matsumoto-san left.”

“I’m sorry, (y/n)-chan,” Akiteru stated softly, truly empathizing with the girl.

“Don’t be, nii-san. That was a long time ago, and now I have Kei,” (y/n) forced a laugh from her lips, pursing them afterward to keep herself from crying. It was true that becoming engaged to the stoic blond megane was a blessing in disguise because it filled in a large piece of her fragmented heart that broke on the day that she found out her father wasn’t the man she thought him to be.

It was true that her engagement, and eventual marriage, to Kei was purely for monetary reasons; it wasn’t that either of them needed the money, but it was because her mother and his father wanted to make more money. The complete terms of the engagement weren’t quite clear to (y/n), but the general gist of it was that while they weren’t married yet, the (L/n) media group will only take on the publishing company that Tsukishima Hotaru is the CEO of as a partner, but once she and Kei were married, her mother will absorb the publishing company into her conglomerate.

At first (y/n) didn’t understand why her mother would do such a thing as to give away her only daughter, and over time she still didn’t understand why the engagement happened in the first place, until she just stopped trying to understand her mother’s mind altogether.

“Food’s ready. I’ll call the parents and you can call Kei down; I think he’s in his room,” Akiteru mused, shocking (y/n) from her reverie and causing her to dumbly follow the older male’s instructions.

Once she was in front of Kei’s door, she raised her right hand to knock, only to freeze when she heard a moan and her name being called out from the other side of the door. She buried her face in her hands as her cheeks heated up with a blush, cursing her luck for bringing her here at such an inopportune time.

(Y/n) stayed like that for a few seconds, blushing harder every time she heard more soft moans coming from Kei, until she steeled herself and gently rapped on the wood with her knuckles.

“K-kei-kun?” She called out softly, knocking once more before letting her hand glide down to the doorknob.

Was it wrong for her to feel so curious at a time like this? They were engaged, anyway. A part of her wanted to just open the door and get it over with, and another part of her wanted to run for the hills. Unfortunately, her perverse side won and she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.

“Oh…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DON'T HURT ME PLEASE. Ahahaha. I know, a cliffhanger, so original of me. What do you guys think will happen? What will Reader-chan see? Is this the "top" that Hinata has been talking about ever since season 1? Omg. I'm hyping myself up too much. I'm sorry. Haha.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented! I'll do a mass shoutout in the next one.


	7. Kisses and Stories

“Oh…”

“Hnn… (y/n),” Tsukishima mumbled, brows furrowed and lips parted in his sleep. “ _O-oi_.”

The short girl sighed, fanning her face with her hands to cool herself down while calming her racing heart. “Kei- _kun_.”

(Y/n) stepped forward, gingerly leaning down and hesitantly placing a hand on her fiancé’s shoulder. “Kei- _kun_ ,” she called again, shaking him lightly as she admired the way his lashes brushed the tops of his cheeks and the slight blush that tinted his face.

In the two years they’d been engaged, not once had (y/n) seen the blond asleep; they never bothered to stay with the other for too long because they always ended up bickering. But now here she was, admiring the same person that she’d claimed she would never fall for, and trying to tamp down the fluttering feelings in her stomach that were making their way up to her heart.

She had to admit that he was handsome, and that she was lucky to have been partnered with him instead of the millions of other boys out there; Kei had it all: looks, brains, wit, and kindness— even though he rarely showed the last one. Looking at him now had (y/n) licking her suddenly dry lips as her eyes lingered on Kei’s parted ones.

It was killing her to just think it, but she wanted to kiss him; just to see if the sparks she felt when they first kissed weren’t just a product of her hormones and emotions. The thought was tempting— he wouldn’t know, it would be quick, and she would finally know the answer to the question that had only resurfaced now.

With a deep breath, (y/n) closed her eyes and leaned to to gently press her lips against Kei’s.

The blond had woken up when (y/n) shook him lightly, and he wanted to tease her a little bit before he showed her that he was aware of his surroundings, but he never expected her to be so bold as to kiss him. True, her lips felt amazing against his, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her closer and lose himself in her, but something told him that she would skitter away from him the moment he let her know how much he was liking what was happening.

His fingers twitched where they laid flat against his mattress, and every time his fiancée shyly moved her lips against his, it tugged and wore at his self control; it was taking everything in him not to wrap his arms around her and pull her down on top of him. 

All too soon, (y/n) pulled away and pursed her lips together before looking down to hide her red cheeks. She didn’t know where she got the courage to be so bold, but it felt good to do what she actually wanted instead of being held back by her hesitations.

Silence reigned upon the couple; a comfortable silence that had both of them thinking if they should alert the other and make their desires known, but also had them thinking of the potential consequences of moving too fast.

“(Y/n)- _chan_ , is Kei awake yet?” Akiteru called from the other side of the door. (Y/n)’s eyes widened in surprise before gathering her wits about her and gently rousing her fiancé with another gentle shake. “Hurry up.”

“Kei- _kun_ , wake up,” the (h/c) haired girl spoke softly, stepping back when the slumbering male opened his eyes and adjusted the glasses on his face. “Everyone’s waiting for us downstairs”

“Alright, alright,” the mid-blocker muttered, keeping his head down as he sat up on his bed. “Are we going or not?”

 

***

 

Dinner with her mother was rare, and a gathering like this was even more rare for Reiko (l/n); it wasn’t that she didn’t want to attend such gatherings, but it was because she simply didn’t have the time for such menial things compared to sealing multi-billion dollar business deals. She was a tough woman that made people quiver in fear with just her mere presence, and oftentimes incurred the wrath and jealousy of those she deemed below her.

And so her words when her daughter entered the dining room weren’t shocking to hear, “What took you so long, (y/n)? I have a flight to Russia right after this dinner.”

“ _Gomen_ , _okaa-san_ ,” the younger (l/n) apologized softly, lowering her head in submission as she took the empty seat adjacent to her mother.

“Ah, let’s eat, everyone,” Mrs. Tsukishima urged in an attempt to smooth things out between the people at the table, and with a chorus of ‘ _itadakimasu’_ from everyone, they all dug in.

“How’s school been, (y/n)?” (Y/n)’s mother asked, her deep purple eyes piercing as she assessed her daughter. “Are your grades okay?”

“School’s the same as always, _okaa-san_. My grades are fine, thank you for asking; Kei’s team is going to the Nationals qualifiers next week, though, in case he hasn’t told anyone.” (Y/n) was quick to change the subject, not bothering to try for a subtler diversion as she pushed all the attention to her silent fiancé.

It was always like this with them; she simply felt uncomfortable talking to her mother about herself. It hadn’t always been like that between them, though; their relationship only started to strain when Reiko took up the duties from the life that she’d thrown away to marry the good-for-nothing man that was (y/n)’s father.

Yes, (y/n) and Reiko didn’t always have the life that they had now; they underwent a lot of changes in the sixteen years that (y/n) was alive. Reiko grew up in a happy family with a silver spoon upbringing—getting all the things that she wanted and never having to worry about her future—until she met Matsumoto Ichigo during a family vacation in Egypt. 

Ichigo was everything that Reiko’s parents didn’t want for their daughter: devilishly good looking, extremely free spirit, a devil-may-care attitude, and the initiative of a sloth. It didn’t take a lot for Reiko to fall for Ichigo and run away with him—forgetting her former life in the process—and eventually having (y/n); they were a happy family for a while, until the money in Reiko’s bank account ran out and Ichigo refused to work to keep them afloat.

After Reiko finally saw her fairytale for the nightmare that it was, she divorced Ichigo and moved back to Miyagi with (y/n), taking on waitressing jobs to put a roof over her daughter’s head and also put food in their stomach. She made everything work until one day (y/n) got sick and had to be rushed to the hospital because of pneumonia; she managed to make ends meet for two days, paying for medicine and other various hospital bills, until things took a turn for the worse and (y/n) needed a Thoractomy to repair her lungs.

The young mother didn’t know what to do then: how to pay for the surgery, where to get the medicine, and all the other financial woes that the surgery entailed; so she made the decision to go back to her parents on her knees and beg them to help her daughter. 

And now here they were fourteen years later: gathered at (y/n)’s future in-laws’ house and having dinner with the people that were going to take care of (y/n) someday.

“Really? The best of luck to you and your team, Kei- _kun_ ; _gambatte_ ,” Reiko answered sincerely, even though her tone was no-nonsense and concise as usual.

"Thank you, (L/n)- _san_ ; but I think that (y/n) deserves your words more than me since she’s at the top of our class and is one of the best students at school,” Kei answered coolly, pausing to take a sip from his glass of water before turning to the flustered (y/n) sitting beside him. “And she’s set to run as the next student council president when the next term starts.” 

(Y/n) gaped like a fish out of water, truly at a loss for words as Kei’s statements sank in. All of those things were true, even her plan of running for student council president next term, but she never thought that Kei would bother knowing all of those things about her. 

Maybe that was what made (y/n) fall for Kei in the first place, or maybe she’d loved him all along; she didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Did you notice the hints that I dropped along the way? This chapter is basically a buildup for everything that's going to happen in the future chapters. :D
> 
> Thank you so much to otakuchips and tsukishimaaf for the lovely comments. :D
> 
> I don't know if you guys noticed but I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to par with the others. I haven't been feeling well (emotionally and mentally) when I wrote this so this is the end product. I promise that I'll try to be better in the next one.


	8. Whatever You Say

“Ha? Hinata and Kageyama failed their exams? I’d be more than happy to help,” (Y/n) offered sincerely as she walked down the path leading to the main road. She looked up at Tsukishima then at Yamaguchi, pursing her lips when she saw the apathetic look on her fiancé’s face.

It had been two weeks since the family dinner and things have been smoother for the couple ever since (y/n) got the answers she seeked and Kei defended her from her mother; the changes in their relationship weren’t drastic, they just simply didn’t bicker anymore. Whenever an argument would start brewing, one of them would concede—mostly Kei—and let it pass.

The change was noticed by everyone around them, especially by (y/n)’s friends who have not heard a single complaint from their (h/c) haired friend in the time that passed; all of them wanted to point it out to the couple and ask them what had changed, but were too afraid of the couple’s wrath to say anything about it.

“You have other things to do besides stay after school and teach those two,” Kei muttered, his gaze focusing on his fiancée as they strolled down the asphalt road.

“But I’ve been staying after school to wait for you to finish practice, it wouldn’t be much different,” (y/n) countered, staring back defiantly at the tall blocker beside her.

The blond didn’t know what else to say; he wanted to tell her that he didn’t want her spending so much time with other men, but his pride held him back from admitting that he was jealous of the thought of his fiancée putting in the effort to teach his academically slow teammates. “No.”

“But Kei!” The short girl protested, tugging on Kei’s arm before turning to Yamaguchi for help. “Tell him that it won’t take too long, Yamaguchi.”

“ _Ah_ … (Y/n)’s right, Tsukki; it would only be before and after practice, so it won’t make much of a difference in her schedule. She’s been going home with us for the last two weeks, anyway,” the olive and raven-haired pinch server stated softly—almost hesitantly—as he looked over at the tall blond that was his best friend.

“Tsukishima!” Hinata’s familiar voice echoed in the deserted street as he ran downhill to catch up the blocker. “…san,” he added quietly as he stopped abruptly with a bow.

Kei turned around and quirked an eyebrow at the oddball duo of Kageyama and Hinata, smirking when Hinata started babbling about asking for his help with their exams. “It doesn’t seem fair to have _chibi-chan_ asking for both of you, King." 

“Kei,” (y/n) tugged on her fiancé’s sleeve and frowned up at him. “Just help them.”

“Not until I hear it from the king himself,” the _megane_ answered coolly, further agitating Kageyama with his smug expression.

“Please help us study,” Kageyama whispered, his features set into a scowl as he inched forward.

(Y/n) clicked her tongue at her fiancé who took a step forward and held up a hand by his ear, disregarding her grip around his left arm. “Kei, stop.”

Without any regard to (y/n), the blond leaned towards the raven-haired setter and chuckled. “Care to repeat that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“Kei,” (y/n) tugged on Tsukishima’s arm, putting most of her weight down to her feet and attempting to pull him back when he stepped towards Kageyama again; which had him dragging his fiancée behind him.

“Help us study! Please!” Kageyama yelled, partnering his bellow with a full bow that had everyone letting out sounds of surprise as they jumped away from him.

“ _Oi_! What’s with all the noise? You’re disturbing the neighborhood!” Coach Ukai opened the foothill store’s door, making the teens turn to him with fear on their faces before they apologized and scampered off further downhill.

“I told you not to aggravate Kageyama,” (y/n) admonished the blond she was clinging to, poking his bicep with her index finger as said blond tried his best to tamp down his embarrassment at being scolded in front of his teammates; especially Hinata and Kageyama. He was used to having Yamaguchi around when his fiancée decided that it would be fun to nag him. “You have to help us teach them; I can teach Hinata English.”

“Alright, alright, whatever you say,” Kei acquiesced, sighing heavily as he sauntered down the road with (y/n) beside him, and Yamaguchi, Kageyama, and Hinata following behind, waiting for his decision.

“Good. Now you have the gist of how this marriage will work,” (y/n) said smugly, grinning on the outside while trying to calm her racing heart on the inside. She didn’t know why she’d brought the topic up, really, but now she was sincerely regretting it because Kei had fallen extremely silent, signaling that it was either he didn’t like her answer or he didn’t have anything to say.

After what felt like a century of silence, Tsukishima finally answered, “Fine. Whatever you say.”

 

***

 

“Yuki! _Iie! Iie!_ Sit!” The frantic orders had (y/n) hastening up the road to her house and peering through the metal gates, only to see their housekeeper—Akane- _san_ —trying to keep her Great Pyrenees at bay in the front lawn.

Once the mammoth of a dog spotted her owner, she immediately started barking and jumping up and down against the gates, which made (y/n) laugh and open the barrier. As always, Yuki stood up on her hind legs and draped herself over her owner, almost suffocating the girl with her thick, white fur. 

"Oh no,” Kei muttered, stopping a few feet away from the scene unfolding before him wherein his fiancée was getting hugged by her gigantic beast of a pet. What possessed her to take care of such a big dog was beyond him, but he had no choice but to put up with it—besides, Yuki was a tad adorable, in her own way.

Letting her arms fall from where they were wrapped around her dog’s body, (y/n) pushed Yuki a little before saying, “Look, Yuki, Kei- _kun_ ’s here to see you.” 

Tsukishima wanted to curse the girl who will be tied to him for the rest of his life, but he didn’t; it was a case of he didn’t want to, rather than he couldn’t—he cared about her too much to ask anything bad to befall her.

Yuki got down from her owner, opting instead to tackle the tall blond that stood a few feet away. Tsukishima braced himself for the impact, only to let out a puff of breath when the mammoth dog practically used him as a stand. Wordlessly, he let his hands roam through her soft fur and made sure to scratch behind her ears—just the way she liked it—which had Yuki wagging her tail wildly from side to side and slobbering all over the mid-blocker like her mouth had suddenly turned into a waterfall.

" _Oi_ , get your dog off of me,” the _megane_ ordered, no real heat or demand in his tone as he tried to get the dog off of him.

With one call from (y/n), Yuki got off of Kei and ran over to her owner. “What do you say about taking a walk, Yuki?”

"At this time of the night?" Kei cut in, sneering at the thought of his fiancée walking through the streets at nine in the evening even with her monstrosity of a dog with her; he wasn’t willing to risk her safety.

  
“You’re such a party pooper, Kei- _kun_ ,” (y/n) teased, clicking her tongue and tapping her thigh twice to signal Yuki to follow her. Obediently, the white dog followed her owner, falling into step beside her and leaving the scowling blond behind them.

He knew that she would be fine—it was a safe neighborhood after all—but he still couldn’t shake the thought that something might happen if he’s not there to protect her, so with one last huff, he followed (y/n). 

"See, I knew you were gonna go with us anyway,” the short girl stated chirpily, fishing through her bag and eventually pulling out a small pack of tissues. She pulled out a couple of sheets, folding them into four before dabbing at the dog saliva that had been absorbed by Kei’s uniform. “Be sure to soak this shirt in some detergent or else the saliva’s going to stain.” 

"Why is your dog’s saliva the only one that stains clothes, though?” Kei asked monotonously, averting his gaze from (y/n)’s to keep her from seeing the blush on his face. 

"It’s her food, it’s good for her, but bad for clothes,” she answered softly, scrunching up the used tissues and putting them inside her bag to dispose of later when she got home. “ _Ne_ , Kei- _kun_ , you’re going to a training camp next week, right?”

“ _Hai_.” 

“I think I’ll miss you.” The words were said so casually that Kei couldn’t help but do a double take at the girl beside him. She was looking at Yuki who was enjoying her stroll, which hid most of her face from view; and maybe he needed to change his glasses, but she seemed to be blushing.

He remained silent, having an internal battle with himself as he decided on what to do. His fingers twitched beside him with the urge to pull her close and kiss her, but another—more rational—voice in his head told him to let her be; he never really was one to listen to his rational side, anyway.

Before he could second guess himself, his right hand grabbed onto (y/n)’s wrist and he pulled her towards him, fluidly wrapping his left arm around her waist before leaning down to press his lips to her in a gentle kiss; a kiss that he’d been craving ever since she planted one on him when she thought he was asleep.

"I think I'll miss you, too.”

                                                                                                            

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this. :D Until the next one.
> 
> I'm sorry I can't do shoutouts today, I'll do them in the next one, I promise. xx


	9. Miss Me?

The probability of Tsukishima Kei calling her to tell her if he’d gotten to Tokyo already or to even ask how her day was going was one in a million; she knew that waiting for him to even send her a text would equal to wasting her time, but that still didn’t keep her from checking her phone constantly and sighing when she didn’t see any messages or calls. 

Tsukishima Kei didn’t promise to call or text her when he left early in the morning for his training camp in Tokyo; he didn’t even say goodbye to her properly: just a peck on her forehead the night before he left, and that was it. She didn’t know what to do with her fiancé anymore, it seemed that he was always hot and cold with her, meaning that after anything remotely domestic or physical happens between them, he would retreat back into his shell and treat her as if nothing had happened.

(Y/n) was getting tired of the constant push and pull between them, even though it was partly her fault as well, but it wouldn’t hurt to finally just do something and own up to it instead of retreating, would it? And so, with one last sigh, she slammed her phone face-down on her bed before zipping up the duffel bag that she’d been packing.

“(Y/n)- _san_ , the car will be leaving soon,” Akane, the (l/n)’s housekeeper, stated with a pleasant smile on her face as she hovered right outside (y/n)’s room. “Does Tsukishima- _san_ know you’re going to Tokyo to see him?”

“Akane- _san_ ,” the (h/c) haired girl whined, slinging the bag strap on her shoulder and lugging it along with her. “I’m going to Tokyo because _okaa-san_ insisted on me tagging along to her during her meetings.”

“And you said yes almost instantly; you never say yes to her,” Akane teased, wagging her index finger at (y/n) as both of them made their way down the stairs and out of the house. “It’s because Tsukishima- _san_ is there, isn’t it?”

(Y/n) puffed her cheeks out and pouted at the slightly older woman. “I have the right to miss my fiancé, Akane- _san_!”

The housekeeper laughed, opening the gate for the indignant (h/c) haired girl before answering, “And so the truth comes out now. Madam will meet you at the airport since your arrival time will be the same as her arrival from Russia. Do you have your boarding pass with you?” 

The girl held up her phone, showing Akane the electronic boarding pass that was displayed on her home screen. “ _Hai, hai. Jya ne._ Please take Yuki out for a walk, okay?”

With that, (y/n) got into the car that her mother had arranged to take her to the airport for her hour-long flight to Tokyo. Now, she just had to think of an excuse to get out of her duties so that she can go to Nekoma to see her fiancé.

 

***  


The commercial flight to Tokyo was really something to write home about; maybe it was because of her mother’s influence, or maybe the airline was just **that** good, but everything was smooth sailing for her from the moment she boarded the plane to the moment she alighted it… or maybe it was the fact that she’d been upgraded to business class, which was wasteful considering it was only an hour-long flight.

As soon as (y/n) saw her mother’s familiar head of deep purple hair, she picked up the pace and managed not to knock down the people walking around her. “ _Ah, gomen okaa-san_ ,” (y/n) apologized softly, trying to catch her breath as her mother nodded curtly before going back to her call. 

The older woman started walking away, which had her daughter looking around confusedly before a suited-up man bowed to her and motioned to her bag. “May I carry this for you, (l/n)- _sama_? My name is Kyōsuke and I will be your personal assistant during your stay in Tokyo.” 

“ _H-hai_ ,” the short girl stuttered out, handing her bag over to the man and thanking him when he started leading her through the throng of people towards the exit. (Y/n) knew that her mother had a lot of money and employees, but to give her an honest-to-goodness assistant? She was here to see Kei, for _Kami-sama_ ’s sake.

Once they passed the doors leading out to the pickup area, (y/n)’s eyes widened at the sleek, black sedan waiting at the curb for her. Kyōsuke opened the door for her and helped her board the car before setting her bag beside her and closing the door. He situated himself beside the driver and gave the quiet ‘go-ahead’, which sent the car lurching forward. 

“Kyōsuke- _san_ , where’s _okaa-san_?” (Y/n) asked softly, a little panicked that her mother had left her with strangers; her employees, but strangers nonetheless.

“The madam has already gone ahead to meet with potential clients, and we will meet her at the meeting venue after we stop by at the hotel so you can change into the clothes that she had ordered for you,” the older male answered politely, turning to look back at her and smiling sincerely.

“Oh…” (y/n) muttered dejectedly, slumping in her seat as she thought of a way to get her temporary assistant off her back so she could go and visit Kei. “Okay then.” 

(Y/n) had grown used to being surrounded by lavish things in her life, but this opulence was on a whole other level; she didn’t even want to know how much this so-called ‘Hibiya Suite’ at the Peninsula had cost, there was even a brass telescope in the spacious living room—so it really must have been expensive.

She tried not to linger too much on the outfit that her mother had gotten for her: a black skirt that fell to her mid-thigh, a short-sleeved cream button down shirt, and a pair of open-toed cream-colored pumps. She had to admit that she looked good—not to mention very ladylike—but did she really have to wear the shoes?

After breezing through applying a light coat of makeup on her face, (y/n) was escorted back down to the car where she was forced to endure almost an hour of awkward silence, until she saw the place marker of the ‘meeting venue’ that they were going to. 

“ _Toritsu Nekoma Kōkō_? Is there where the meeting will be held?” (y/n) asked, suddenly enthusiastic as the thought of sneaking away from the meeting and looking for Kei entered her mind. She tamped down an oncoming grin, settling for a small smile instead as Kyōsuke turned to send her an apologetic look.

“Forgive me, (l/n)- _sama_ , I thought you’d already been briefed about today’s meeting. Today’s meeting will be about the terms of agreement between (l/n) Advertising and the Fukurōdani Academy Group. We have been in talks with them for a few months now about releasing new advertising material for all the schools in their group, but madam wanted to meet with the client’s officials before she agreed to the contract,” the brunet explained patiently, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead before adjusting his tie. “I’m sure that everyone is awaiting your arrival, (l/n)- _sama_ ; so if you’re ready…”

(Y/n) wanted to protest—just tell Kyōsuke that she really wasn’t here for the meeting—but she found herself nodding and accepting his hand to get out of the car. Wordlessly, (y/n) followed Kyōsuke down concrete paths where they eventually ended up at the front of the school where people were alighting from a bus.

A familiar head of black with blond hair caught (y/n)’s attention and she immediately hastened towards the person. “Noya- _san_!”

“ _Eh_?” Nishinoya wondered aloud, turning his attention away from the cellular tower that he’d thought was the Skytree and onto the cute girl power walking towards him. “K… _kawaii_.”

“Noya- _san_!” The girl yelled again, and he had to blink twice to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating.

“(Y/n)- _sanI_!?” The libero yelled, making everyone turn towards the impeccably dressed girl powering through despite her tall heels.

“ _Hai_! Daichi!” said girl waved enthusiastically at her friend before wrapping her arms around him in greeting. The dumbstruck captain was speechless because of two things: a.) she looked so cute wearing that outfit, and b.) WHAT WAS SHE DOING HERE? “I was hoping to see you guys here.” 

“Your girlfriend?” Kuroo Tetsurou, Nekoma’s captain, asked slyly as he looked from (y/n) to Daichi.

Daichi started shaking his head, frantically looking from side to side to check if Tsukishima had, by any chance, heard what the other captain had said. If Tsukishima had heard that claim, that would mean trouble for him, and he didn’t want that; there was nothing worse than a jealous Tsukishima. 

“My fiancée.” Daichi clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from screaming as he jumped away from the blond that had appeared behind him. Kuroo quirked an eyebrow at the couple before him, firstly noticing that they made a good looking couple despite the height imbalance.

Smiling at the fact that her fiancé had finally—willingly—told another soul of their engagement, (y/n) wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek, which made the stoic blond look down to hide his blushing face from his amused teammates. He might not have greeted her the way she wanted—with a smile and possibly a kiss—this was enough to appease her.

“You’re getting married?” Kuroo inquired before turning to the practically glowing (y/n). “What do you say to leaving him and marrying me instead?”

“ _Oi_ ,” Kei muttered in warning, looking up at the spiker and narrowing his eyes.

“No, thank you,” (y/n) answered cheerfully, bowing to both Kuroo and Daichi before dragging Kei to a more secluded area; not hidden from the curious gazes following them, but well away from eavesdropping ears.

“What are you doing here?” Kei asked softly yet curtly, his left hand slowly drifting up to rest on the small of his fiancée’s back and gently caressing the area with the tips of his fingers. “And how did you get here before me?”

“You’re not mad that I’m here?” (y/n) asked coyly, batting her eyelashes cutely at the blond she was clinging to and smiling brightly when he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.

Kei shook his head, his face still impassive even though his heart was pounding inside his chest at how close (y/n) was to him. In truth, he was happy that she was here, but he couldn’t tell her that at the risk of sounding like a lovesick fool, but he could surely show her through his actions that her presence was wanted.

“Why would I be? Whatever you say goes in this marriage, remember?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, I'm sorry that this chapter didn't have much Kei in it, and also I might have been off with the chapter predictions. I think this one will have more or less 15-20 chapters in total. I'm not yet sure because I still have so much planned for this story, like a lemon that will be a necessary evil to the plot. Don't worry, I will warn everyone when it will be so those who aren't fond of lemons can skip that part. 
> 
> Also, can anyone recommend any good K-Dramas? I'm almost done with Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo and I love most of the story. Rom-coms are very much preferred. :D
> 
> And lastly, a huge shoutout to livinglotus and em_n_m_e for the amazing comments. xx


	10. Falling Slowly

For someone as un-athletic as (y/n) (l/n), sitting in a board room to listen to old people argue about money and other settlements was a walk in the park compared to playing volleyball on the court; but if given the chance to skip out on something so boring in favor of watching sweaty guys pass a ball around, she’d take the latter any day

“No, no, the payment needs to be done 40% first before the remaining 60% will be given,” one of the executives argued vehemently, a vein popping up on his forehead as (y/n)’s mother still sat coolly at the head of the table.

“No, it needs to be split 50/50,” another executive cut in, which made (y/n) sigh in boredom. She just wanted this to be over, like, an hour ago. Obviously, their haggling simply wasn’t going to work if they all factored in the demands that they had made earlier.

Reiko (l/n) looked across the table at her daughter, quirking an eyebrow at the teenager and waving her hand towards her. “I believe that my daughter has something she wants to say. Go ahead, (y/n).”

The aforementioned girl sat upright in her seat at the mention of her name, her eyes simultaneously widening as her mother’s words registered. “ _Ah…_ I think that the payment should be split by a 70/30 ratio,” and more confidently, she added, “If you factor in your requests of good materials like the 300 gsm poster and flyer paper, and the quality of the tarpaulin editing, and even the resources that will be needed to film a new commercial showcasing each school, no other payment ratio will work if you want something of quality.”

(Y/n) looked up at her mother who sent her a small, proud smile that made her heart flutter; it was the first time in a long that she’d seen that expression on her mother’s face. “I believe that the company’s future CEO has spoken. I can give you another day to think things over, gentlemen.”

Future CEO? She thought that her mother had already let go of this notion when she broke the news that (y/n) was getting engaged; her one and only condition was that she wasn’t going to be majorly involved in the family business and was going to pursue a career in the medical field if she were to be married to Kei. She distinctly remembered her mother agreeing to her terms, so what had changed? Or had she simply forgotten?

(Y/n) hadn’t even noticed her mother get up from her seat and walk over to her; she was simply shaken from her stupor when Reiko tapped her shoulder gently and gently directed her out of the room when she’d gotten out of her seat.

“I’m sorry if that meeting bored you out of your mind,” Reiko apologized with an almost sheepish smile on her face as she walked side by side with her daughter.

The younger girl couldn’t shake the thoughts filling her mind, so she asked what she wanted to ask when she still had the courage to do so, and while her mother didn’t have her phone glued to her ear. “ _Okaa_ - _san_ , why did you tell them that I’m going to be the next CEO of the company? Business isn’t for me; I’m not like you.” 

“It was just a bluff to make them put more weight to your words; I was also getting bored in there,” (y/n) didn’t know what shocked her more: the fact that her mother **lied** to a whole group of powerful men, or that she admitted to being bored. Reiko smiled down at her then, and for that brief moment, she saw the old Reiko; the happy and carefree mother that (y/n) had been missing all these years.

The purple-haired woman chuckled, lifting a hand up and closing her daughter’s agape mouth. What exactly had changed between the time that her mother was in Russia and the time that she was here? She wanted to ask, but didn’t want to be rude, so she kept her mouth shut.

 

***

 

Tsukishima Kei was one stoic little shit; he knew that he should change for the sake of his fiancée, but he couldn’t find it in himself to show his emotions so freely as he perceived that as a sign of weakness. Whenever he saw (y/n), he was always torn between hugging and kissing her, and keeping quiet and ignoring her until she went away. He knew that it was unfair to his fiancée, but an unemotional person was who he turned out to be after years and years of getting hurt by the people who mattered the most to him; showing people your emotions was equivalent to life where to hurt you the most, or so he believed.

He’d seen it happen to his brother, his childhood friends, and—most notably—his parents. Maybe it was overly defensive of him to think so, but he didn’t want to experience that all-consuming grief that he’d seen them go through. 

So, what brought all these thoughts on? Seeing his fiancée all made up and talking with his teammates with the sincerest of smiles on her face had him thinking all those things; for all he knew, she might have thought that he was incapable of love, which is something that he’d have to clear with her one of these days.

“Look at you all dressed up like a woman,” Daichi teased his friend, reaching a hand out and patting the short girl’s head. Suddenly, he reeled his hand back and pinned it to his side when he felt the uncomfortable heat of a glare boring into him; he had an inkling that it was Tsukishima, and he was right.

“What’s with the outfit, (y/n)- _san_?” Suga asked curiously, taking the towel draped over the back of his neck and using that to wipe off the sweat on his face. “You look like you’re going to a business meeting.”

(Y/n) grinned, nodding at her _senpai_ before answering, “Well, I **did** go to a business meeting; my _okaa-san_ asked me if I wanted to go with her to Tokyo and I said yes, it just so happened that her client is the _Fukurōdani_ Academy Group.”

“So, that explains why you’re here; how did you get here before us, anyway?” Nishinoya cut in before taking a sip from his energy drink.

“I took a plane and it was only an hour-long flight,” (y/n) explained, then looked around as if she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, I came here to find Kei. Where is-”

“What do you want?”

(Y/n) squeaked in surprise, clutching her chest as she tried to calm her erratic heart. “Will you stop scaring everyone? Anyway, isn’t it time for your lunch break soon?”

The tall blond nodded, his expression still impassive even as his fiancée wrapped her arms around his torso and snuggled up to him. He wasn’t sure if she was doing this to provoke him or if she was doing this solely because she wanted to, but he had to admit that it felt nice despite the fact that it warranted many stares. “ _Hai_.” 

“Well then, I’ll have to steal you away from everyone,” (y/n) beamed at Kei, then turned to Daichi with narrowed eyes when the captain opened his mouth to protest. “And they’ll be fine with that. Right, Daichi?”

“ _A-ano_ … (Y/n)- _san_ , I think you’ll have to ask Coach Ukai and Takeda- _sensei_ about it,” Suga answered sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck as he prayed that (y/n) wouldn’t get upset with any of them. “Or maybe you can just eat lunch with us?”

“Yeah, (y/n)- _san_ , you should just eat lunch with us. I heard that they’re going to serve _unagi_ later,” Noya added, jumping up and down at the thought of the short girl joining them.

As tempting as _unagi_ was, (y/n) didn’t want to step over any boundaries that didn’t have to be crossed; such as having lunch with the players in the training camp. “I can’t do that; I would be overstaying my welcome then. _Ah…_ if you have the time later in the evening, Kei, you can visit me at the hotel I’m staying at.”

Instantaneously, a heavy blush colored Tsukishima’s cheeks and he looked down at the floor to hide his face from his snickering _senpai_ s.

“Did I say something funny?” (Y/n) asked cluelessly, her gaze flittering from person to person; each one refusing to meet her gaze as they snickered and covered up the blush on their faces.

“Your innocence pains me,” Tsukishima muttered, covering his face with his hands and untangling himself from his fiancée. “Me going to your hotel room at night? Think about it, (y/n).”

The girl blinked in confusion for a while, until her features lit up in realization and a blush colored her cheeks. “ _Ha_!? _Eh_! I didn’t mean it like that. Kei!”

 

***

 

“Coach Ukai,” Tsukishima Kei called his coach quietly, thinking of what to say to the older man to let him visit his fiancée and possibly skip out on staying the night at Nekoma. “I’d like to ask your permission to visit (y/n).”

“(L/n) (y/n)? Your fiancée? Where is she staying?” The older man looked up at him from what he was browsing on the tablet in his hands and quirked an eyebrow at the blocker. “And what time will you be back?”

“She’s staying at the Peninsula in the city with her mother; I might stay the night there,” Kei answered, immediately adding an explanation to his statement to clear the shocked look on Coach Ukai’s face. “Her mother might insist that I stay there since it will be too late by the time that we finish dinner. I promise I’ll be back early in the morning.” 

“How will you get there?”

“A driver’s already waiting for me outside.”

That was an hour ago, and right now he was being herded up to the penthouse suite by the man that introduced himself as Kyōsuke. It was a miracle in itself that Coach Ukai let him go out, but it was even more surprising that the older man had given him permission to stay at the hotel as long as he was back by six in the morning. 

Kyōsuke steered him into an opulent foyer before whisking him off into a simple but extravagant living room where (y/n) was having fun looking through a telescope. A small smile tugged at his lips at the sight of her giggling and peering through the telescope, and he wanted to wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her cheek, but he held himself back. 

“(L/n)- _sama_ , Tsukishima- _sama_ has arrived,” (y/n)’s personal assistant announced clearly, his voice bouncing off the walls and echoing in the room before he bowed and made his exit. 

“Thank you, Kyōsuke- _san_ ,” (y/n) beamed at the other male as she stepped away from the telescope and proceeded to kiss her fiancé’s cheek. “I’m so happy that you’re here, Kei- _kun_. Have you had dinner yet?”

“Yes,” he wanted to hit himself as soon as he saw (y/n)’s crestfallen expression, so he immediately added, “But I’m still a little hungry. Don’t you have any food here?”  
  
The short girl giggled, intertwining her fingers with Kei’s before she led him to the dining room. “Good, because I made dinner for you. What did you have at the camp? Was it _unagi_ like you had during lunch or was it something different?”

“It was just curry and vegetables, nothing too special,” Kei pursed his lips together to keep himself from smiling at how adorable (y/n) looked right at that moment; her lips were pouted and her cheeks were puffed as she narrowed her eyes at him. “We had fruits for dessert.”

“Well, my _katsudon_ certainly can’t beat curry, but I ordered strawberry shortcake to make up for the entrée,” (y/n) grinned, seating Kei down on the seat at the head of the table before she took the seat to his right. At the mention of strawberry shortcake, the blond’s expression lit up with excitement and a little longing, which made his fiancée internally high-five herself for doing something right.

Dinner was a fairly quiet event since both parties always tended to stay quiet during meals, but dessert was another thing, per se. As soon as (y/n) took a big slice of the cake and gave it to Kei, his face remained impassive yet his eyes spoke volumes of how happy he was to be eating his favorite food item.

“Thank you…” the blond broke the silence with an awkward starter. “Dinner was good." 

(Y/n) giggled aloud, clapping her hands together in happiness before she leaned over the table and pressed her lips to Kei’s in a short kiss. Kei instinctively reeled back, his face burning with a blush and his mind racing a mile a minute to comprehend when his fiancée had become so bold.

His confusion must have been very evident on his face because (y/n) answered his unspoken question. “I’m tired of things always being ‘one step forward, two steps back’ with us, Kei. If you like me, then just say it; if you don’t… well… I understand. I know I’m not pretty or the most pleasant girl out there, so I understand if you don’t like me like that-”

Kei’s eyebrows furrowed together in frustration as his hands clenched into fists in his lap. He wanted to tell her that she wasn’t the problem; that it was him that was having a hard time expressing himself to her, but she seemed to know him so well because she took the words that he wanted to say right out of his mouth.

“I know that you’re not good with expressing your feelings, but please don’t push me away after you do or say something that indicates that you like me, too; because it’s confusing me and I… _ano_ … I’m sorry, I don’t know why…”

The guilt was practically eating him alive right then; he wanted to tell her why he was the way he was and that he wanted to tell her everything that there was to know about him: his childhood, his hopes, his fears, and his dreams, but he couldn’t even open his mouth to speak. 

“I’m the one who’s sorry, (y/n),” Kei managed to speak up after a long while, closing his eyes in frustration as his mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something but didn’t have the words to get his message across. “I want to be better for you…”

“I don’t want you to be better, I just want you to be more open with me.”

“It’s not that easy, (y/n).” 

“What’s holding you back, then? Please tell me because, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, it’s been hurting me.” By now (y/n)’s calm tone had taken on a sharper edge that made Kei feel even guiltier.

“Just because.”

“You know what, I’m tired, I’m going to sleep; there’s only one room here so you’re free to sleep beside me or you can sleep on the couch.”

With that, (y/n) got up from the table and trudged towards her room, hastily wiping away the tears that escaped from her eyes before they could stain her cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, hey! I know I promised a lot of heartbreak and tears, but give me some time to get to that. I promise that I will try my best not to fail you guys.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for all the K-Drama recommendations, I'll be sure to watch all of them after I cut some carrots tomorrow. And uhhh... yes, I think some of you may know that my Marketing subject has been credited, meaning that I don't have to attend classes until March, so yeah, it's gonna be fun practicing for my exams.
> 
> I'd love to do shoutouts, but it's already 12:30 AM here and my eyes are begging me to close them, so I'll do it in the next one. Thank you!!! xx <3


	11. Love Stood Still

No matter how hard Tsukishima Kei tried to force himself to sleep, his conscience simply wouldn’t allow it; his conversation with (y/n) kept playing in his mind and he kept tossing and turning on the couch in search for a comfortable position to settle in. Unfortunately, even after an hour and a half of restlessness, he still hadn’t gotten the rest that he needed, which had him getting up and steeling himself for what he was about to do; possibly the most daring thing that he’d ever done in his young life, save for that time when he got mad at (y/n) and ended up kissing her. 

As soon as he reached the doors leading to the bedroom where his fiancée had disappeared off to after their little altercation, he stood there dumbly and contemplated the pros and cons of reaching out to her. He was torn between going in there and pouring his heart and soul out to her and going back to the couch and forcing himself to get some sleep, even if it took him until the break of dawn. 

“Damn it,” the blond muttered irately under his breath, running his hands through his hair and sighing heavily as he thought of how to proceed. “That woman…”

He didn’t know how long he stood there, staring at the mahogany doors in front of him, but by the time that he’d made up his mind, his feet were already numb from standing on the cold marble tiles for so long; and, without thinking about it any further, he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.

(Y/n) was a fairly light sleeper, so the creaking of the door was enough to rouse her from her discomfited sleep. She paid no mind to it, thinking that it must have been her mother coming to check on her, only to be thrown for a loop when she heard Kei’s familiar voice softly calling her name before gingerly climbing under the sheets and lying down beside her.

“(Y/n),” the _megane_ called again, his voice soft so as not to startle her or show her that he was very uncomfortable at that moment. His heart was pounding in his chest and his ears were so hot with the blush that colored his entire face, and he wanted nothing more than to get out from under the covers and out of the room, but he held himself back; (y/n) deserved an explanation and he had to make her understand, even if it meant baring his soul to her and giving her a piece of himself that he had sworn never to give anyone. “You don’t have to say anything, but I just want you to listen to me. Please.”

Silence greeted Tsukishima’s plea, but he cleared his throat and readied himself for, possibly, the most heartfelt conversation in his life. He knew that (y/n) was wide awake now, because he’d heard her breath hitch a second ago, and he also felt her body tense up when he laid down beside her.

(Y/n) shifted again, curling up even more against the pillow that she hugged to her chest and biting her bottom lip to keep herself from answering Kei; he deserved her silence after he’d shut her out earlier. Yet, she still listened.

“I don’t like it when I… say something that hurts you,” Kei began hesitantly, licking his suddenly dry lips and clearing his throat to buy him more time to think about what he was going to say next. “I’ve always wanted to tell you that, (y/n).”

Thick silence rained down on the couple, both of their minds trying to process what exactly was happening and how to ease the other’s pain; and after a few minutes, (y/n) finally spoke up, “Why didn’t you? Don’t you trust me?”

“I do, but it’s not that easy for me to open up; you know that.”

“Why, though? Why can’t you tell me about it? Do you think I would have judged you?”

Kei didn’t know what to answer to that statement, so he stayed quiet and shifted on to his side so that he faced the back of his fiancée’s head. Hesitantly, he reached a hand out and started fiddling with the ends of (y/n)’s hair, admiring how silky it felt between his fingers. Was there a part of her that wasn’t beautiful?

“I was five when I first saw my mom crying; my dad said that loving her would never be his first priority,” the blond admitted quietly; so quiet that it was almost inaudible in the silent room. (Y/n) opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Kei, “My parents met the same way we did: through an arranged marriage.”

“Kei…” (y/n) whispered, feeling guilty that she had pushed her fiancé to the point that he was baring his soul to her even when it was obvious that he was close to having a breakdown.

“My mom fell in love with my dad, but he never returned her feelings. After that incident, I often saw her crying over my dad and I swore to myself that I would never be like her; letting her emotions control her,” Tsukishima scoffed, his voice wavering along with his emotions. “Then there was _nii-san_..”

“Akiteru _nii-san_?” By now (y/n) wanted to turn around and wrap her arms around her fiancé, but held herself back because she knew that while it may ease her feelings, it wouldn’t do any good for Kei; he would only think that she pitied him, and that was the last thing that she wanted.

Kei nodded, throwing an arm over his eyes as he sighed in exasperation; he wasn’t mad at (y/n), he was mad at himself because he couldn’t tell her straight out that he was the way he was because he was afraid to get hurt, especially by her.

“He loved volleyball too much and let it run his life; he lied to me. For what? To make me happy? To make him happy? I don’t even know.”

A choked sob escaped from the man beside (y/n), and her own eyes filled with tears as she held herself back from facing him and wrapping her arms around him like she wanted.

“Pathetic,” Kei muttered after a long while that was filled with silent tears and muffled sobs from both of them. “How can you like someone as pathetic as me?”

“Stop it, Kei,” (y/n) argued, enraged at the fact that her fiancé thought of himself so hatefully. She turned around then, hugging Kei tightly and burying her face in his chest. “You’re not pathetic.”

Slowly, Kei lifted his left arm from where it was draped over his stomach and wrapped it around (y/n)’s shoulders, pulling her closer to feel the comforting warmth of her body chasing away the chill in his veins.

“I’m sorry, (y/n); for treating you the way I have.”

(Y/n)’s quiet sobs ceased altogether when she felt fingers tilting her face up by her chin, and she opened her eyes to see golden brown irises gazing softly back at her. “Kei…”

“(Y/n)… I…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure that most of you know by now that I sprained—and had a minor wound on—my middle finger. I'm fine now; wound partially healed and bandaged, and my sprained finger taped to my ring finger to keep it stable. So yeah, thank you for worrying about me, and thank you for all the 'get well soon' messages. I am so blessed to have you guys as my readers.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know that my headcanon sucks, so let's leave it alone. Ahahaha.


	12. Love Is...

“(Y/n)… I…”

Before Kei could say anything more, (y/n) leaned up and pressed her lips to his in a searing kiss. Just as (y/n) was about to pull away, her fiancé pulled her closer to him and started nibbling on her bottom lip before eventually slipping his tongue into her mouth and playing with her own; she didn’t know how he learned to do that, but it felt so good that she couldn’t be bothered to care as of the moment.

When the lack of oxygen took its toll on the couple, they broke off; both of them panting hard and trying to catch their breaths. Kei looked up at the (h/c) haired girl above him, taking her flushed cheeks and lust-filled eyes to memory so he could save it for a rainy day. 

“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it; that would only hurt me, Kei,” (y/n) whispered, her voice taking on a soft and vulnerable tone that had Tsukishima caressing her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

“I’ll take good care of you from now on, I mean that.”

His words sent a roller coaster of emotions through (y/n), with happiness outweighing her disappointment and sadness that Kei wasn’t about to confess his love for her when she cut him off; she guessed that he wasn’t ready for that kind of admission yet, and she would wait for him no matter how long it took.

(Y/n) blinked, letting Kei’s words sink in before she answered, “You better. Or else I won’t give you _bento_ s.”

A small smile tugged at the blond’s lips, and he leaned up to plant a short and sweet kiss on his fiancée’s lips, which made her squeak and roll off of him to her side of the bed. “Stop that, Kei.”

"Are you being serious right now?” After a few of seconds of silence, he continued, “If you say so.”

“No!” (Y/n) protested, rolling over to face Kei and pouting up at him. “You’re not being sweet at all.”

“Yes, I know. Go to sleep, maybe I’ll be sweeter in the morning.”

Boldly—in a completely tart move— (y/n) quickly pressed her lips to Kei’s before snuggling into his chest, completely oblivious to the blush coloring his entire face, even the tips of his ears. “Salty. Just the way I like you.”

"S-shut up. _Baka._ ”

(Y/n) only giggled in reply, closing her eyes and letting her mind drift off into a peaceful slumber.

 

***

 

Mornings weren’t the most ideal time of day for (y/n); she always woke up with a scowl on her face as soon as her body clock started working and cut off her precious slumber. So when she woke up to an empty bed, that scowl darkened into something more sinister. 

No, she wasn’t mad that she woke up alone—she was used to that—but she was pissed that Kei had it in him to push her away after the night they just spent together; nothing extremely sexual happened, but that may as well have been the case because it felt like (y/n) just had a bad one-night stand; even though she had no past experience to refer to, she imagined that it would feel like this.

What she didn’t expect, though, was when Kei entered the room wearing nothing but one of the hotel’s plush bathrobes, with the center parted just enough to provide her with a glimpse of toned muscles beneath creamy skin. His hair was still wet from the shower he just took and a few droplets of water dripped on to his skin, further emphasizing the smoothness of it.

" _Voulez-vous coucher avec moi_?” (Y/n) muttered under her breath, wishing to all the gods that Kei didn’t speak even a lick of French even though he sure could French kiss like the best of them, again she had no basis if her assumption was true, but she liked to believe that it was.

" _Ha_?” The blocker asked coolly, quirking an eyebrow at his fiancée before taking a seat beside her on the bed.

(Y/n)’s heart started racing in her chest, her eyes going wide and her senses being overwhelmed at Tsukishima’s closeness; and he—after sensing his fiancée’s discomfort—decided to toy with her, even for just a little bit.

“What’s gotten into you?” the (h/c) haired girl practically squeaked when her blond counterpart scooted closer to her and deliberately brushed his fingers against hers. Her reflex told her to pull her hand back, but she let her hand stay where it was, because pulling away would only repeat their ‘one step forward, two steps back’ dynamic, and that was the last thing she wanted.

“Can’t I touch my fiancée when I want to?” He teased, smirking that devilishly attractive smirk of his that had (y/n) swallowing to moisten her suddenly dry throat. “You wanted sweet, this is me being sweet.”

"No, this is you being creepy,” (y/n) cried out, closing her eyes when Kei leaned forward until their noses were touching. She felt his warm, minty breath fanning across her lips and said lips tingled with anticipation; she waited, and waited, and waited… until she opened her left eye and saw Kei staring at her with a mirthful look on his face.

She opened her right eye at that moment, and her lips turned down at the corners in both disappointment and irritation; Tsukishima only laughed at her reaction, pulling back an inch before stopping in his tracks when he saw that he’d upset his fiancée. His laughter instantly died down and a small smile took its place on his lips as he leaned forward and kissed (y/n)’s downturned lips.

Instantly, a blush colored the short girl’s cheeks and she couldn’t muffle the giggle that escaped her lips. She was happy, no, she was **ecstatic** that Kei was actually putting in an effort to make their relationship work; she only hoped that he wouldn’t get tired of it.

"Don’t you have your training to get back to? Coach Ukai will kill me if you’re late.”

"I still have— damn… 30 minutes.”

Pursing her lips guiltily, (y/n) started batting her eyelashes at her fiancé in an attempt to abate the anger that was slowly but clearly making itself known through his darkening expression. “I’m sorry, Kei.”

The blond was about to open his mouth to tell her that this wouldn’t have happened if stayed at Nekoma, but he closed his eyes and calmed himself down by taking deep breaths before answering her. “It’s not your fault. The first game doesn’t start until 9, though.”

"O… okay.” She didn’t know what had just happened, but what was clear to her was the fact that Tsukishima Kei— **the Tsukishima Kei** with the ill-managed temper and snarky mouth—actually held himself back from snapping at her.

As if that wasn’t enough to shock her, Kei opened his mouth again and said, “Would you like to come with me?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally have nothing to say. Umm... Thank you for all the well-wishes; I'm not having a hard time typing since I alternate between my laptop and phone, what's more difficult for me is scrolling down pages and windows. Is there any way to configure my Macbook to be a little easier to manage? D:
> 
> And uhhh... I think you guys should start gearing up for the next few chapters; just a PSA.
> 
> I still stand by what I said: I am so blessed to have you guys as my readers. Thank you so much! <3
> 
> Also, I will try to reply to everything tomorrow! I am soooo sorry!


	13. You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There will be a lemon in this chapter, but it is indicated where it starts and where it ends.

“ _Oi,_ Tsukishima, you didn’t tell me that you were bringing your personal cheerleading team along,” Tanaka teased, looking up at the bleachers and waving at (y/n) who—along with her friends—wore a full-out cheerleader uniform. 

The short girl waved back at the bald spiker, inadvertently waving her orange and black pompom around as well. “Go, go, Karasuno!”

“ _Uwah_! (Y/n)- _san_ is so pretty!” Hinata commented, his eyes glittery with admiration as he stared up at his teammate’s fiancée.

“So that’s why she wanted tips on sewing,” Yamaguchi stated idly, immediately looking away to dodge the glare that his best friend was aiming at him.

Ever since Tokyo, Kei had become more protective of (y/n); she appreciated the sentiment and it made her happy to know that her fiancé was staying true to his word, but sometimes her overdid it and lectured her for even the most irrational of things, like how she shouldn’t wear short skirts when he wasn’t around to protect her, or how she should be more careful when she took Yuki out for walks. They fought about it sometimes, but most of the time she just let things go because she understood that that was how Kei showed that he cared.

“Kei!” (Y/n) called out happily, holding both hands high up in the air and waving her pompoms. Aforementioned male looked up, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, before it disappeared when Nishinoya jumped up and slung an arm around his shoulder to the best of his ability.

(Y/n) cupped her hands around her mouth and leaned forward, her torso leaning against the railing, which made Tsukishima tense up and take a step forward to catch her if she fell. “I’ll marry you if you win!”

"That woman..." the blond blocker ducked his head, closing his eyes and massaging the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger; his teammates, however, all exchanged a look before snickering to themselves.

Sooner than any of them wanted, warm-ups were over and it was time to begin the game that would determine which team was stronger… and luckier.

 

***

 

From her seat up in the bleachers, (y/n) knew that something was wrong, so as soon as Kei was subbed out of the court, she handed her pompoms off to Mai before running down to the exit nearest Karasuno’s half of the court.

Her mind raced a mile a minute with worry as tears blurred her eyes; she didn’t know what exactly had happened, but it must have been bad for him to be sent to the infirmary at such a crucial moment in the game.

"Kei! What happened? All I saw was blood and…" She couldn’t help the sob that escaped her lips when she turned the corner and saw her fiancé cradling his hand close to his chest. Her legs seemed to have a mind of their own and started running towards him, not caring if he teased her later for being a drama queen and a crybaby, as she looked at the injured fingers on his left hand.

"Kei!” Akiteru cried out as he neared the trio which consisted of Kei, (y/n), and Kiyoko. “Are you alright?”

“ _Nii-chan_? What are you doing here? I thought I told you not to-” the younger of the Tsukishima siblings grumbled irately as he led the way to the infirmary.

(Y/n) subtly wiped her tears away, looking at anywhere but her fiancé to keep him from downplaying his own pain for her benefit. “I told Aki _nii-san_ to come. Please don’t be mad at him, Kei.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kei’s expression instantly softened, and the irate aura that surrounded him earlier faded into a calmer one that had Akiteru quirking an eyebrow at his future sister-in-law; both in surprise and awe at how well she could calm his brother down with just a few words.

“Did you make that? You’re going to catch a cold if that’s what you’re going to be wearing until later,” the stoic blond commented, his voice holding no irritation or anger, but just a slight hint of worry that was enough to further amaze Akiteru, and even the silent Kiyoko Shimizu with them. “It looks good, though.”

To further throw Akiteru and Kiyoko through a loop, (y/n) giggled as she gingerly reached out and held on to the hem of Kei’s shirt, which the blond didn’t seem to mind at all. “I’m glad you like it, Kei.”

After navigating through the labyrinthine hallways leading to the infirmary, Kei opened the door and let (y/n) enter before following her inside; the medic instantly stood up from his seat and asked what had happened, and after Kiyoko had explained the extent of the blocker’s injury, the medic started tending to the blond.

(Y/n) didn’t know what to do as her fiancé sat on the bench and stayed quiet while trying to hide his winces from her; of course, being who she was, she placed a hand on the back of Kei’s neck and started running her fingers along his skin. The blond could only sigh in content as he let his mind drift away from his strategizing for a couple of seconds to focus on (y/n)’s calming touch.

When everything was said and done, the group all made their way back to the entrance to the court, with Kei close to sprinting towards his teammates. (Y/n) tugged on the blond’s shirt, causing him to stop in his tracks just a few inches away from the door.

He looked down at her, silently asking what she wanted, only to be stupefied when she grabbed him by his face and pulled him down to slant her lips against his in a not-so-innocent kiss. From behind them, Akiteru cleared his throat in discomfort as Kiyoko blushed and looked away from her _kouhai_.

(Y/n) pulled away after a few seconds, giving her fiancé a light push to get him going before she turned to Kiyoko and apologized softly. “I’m sorry about that, _senpai_.”

“I… it’s alright, (y/n)- _chan_ ,” the manager smiled, even though it was a little strained, then headed on in to follow the blond middle blocker who was already headed straight for Coach Ukai.

 

***

 

(Y/n) had never had any problems with her heart, but the game going on in front of her was close to making her feel like she was going to have a heart attack at any given moment. It was a tense battle between Shiratorizawa and Karasuno, but when the final whistle blew and the referee raised his hand to give the point to her fiancé’s team, she just stared dumbly at the court before jumping around and practically screaming her head off before she grabbed Akiteru and started shaking him back and forth in joy.

“They won! Oh my goodness! _Nii-san,_ they’re going to Nationals!”

All the way from the middle of the court, Kei looked up from beneath the dog pile he was in and sent his fiancée a small—almost indecipherable—smile that had her grinning and cupping her hands beside her mouth to amplify her voice. “You won, so I’ll marry you, Tsukishima Kei!”

A couple of people from Shiratorizawa seemed to have overheard her, and their eyes darted from her to Tsukki, and back—their gazes confused and disbelieving. (Y/n) laughed, blowing a kiss to her fiancé and winking at him; and the blond, in response, got himself out from under Nishinoya, Ennoshita, and Yamaguchi before striding over to her, taking her hand, then dragging her off to who-knows-where without even acknowledging his brother other than with a ‘thank you’.

"Kei!" (Y/n) called quietly as she followed the blocker through the halls, until he stopped by a deserted corridor and suddenly pulled her to him before claiming her lips in a searing kiss. She didn’t know what exactly was going on with her fiancé, but all she could do was respond eagerly to his hungry kisses.

His lips moved fluidly against hers, teeth nibbling gently on her bottom lip before his tongue slipped between her parted lips and tangled with her own. (Y/n) moaned quietly at the contact, letting her hands drift beneath Kei’s shirt and teasingly caress his sides with her fingertips; all the while, Kei’s hands cupped (y/n)’s face and his thumbs ran along her cheeks fondly.

Before long, Kei pulled away from (y/n) and tried to catch his breath whilst planting butterfly kisses along her jaw, then down to her neck where he started marking her. When (y/n) felt what her fiancé was doing, she pulled away with a squeak and lightly hit his shoulder.

“Dear _Kami-sama_ , Kei, we talked about this: not where it’s visible,” the short girl lectured, poking the area that her lover had marked and hoping to all hope that it wasn’t that visible.

“What’s wrong with people knowing that we’re together?”

“Nothing?” The statement came out sounding like a question as (y/n) tried to think of any reason why Kei would deliberately forget the rules that they’d already established; the only reason she could think of was that he was jealous again. “Did anyone say anything that upset you during the match?”

The blond sighed in defeat and wrapped his arms around his fiancée, burying his nose in her hair and shamefully admitting that yes, someone did say something that got to him during the match. “I know that number five was just doing it to distract me, but he told me that some other guy might take you from me.”

(Y/n) felt elated; for Kei to be so affected like that about something about **her** , of all people, was both very humbling and very shocking. She knew that he cared for her, but she never knew that it was to that extent.

"As if that would happen, Kei.” She pulled away from his embrace and leaned up on her toes to rub her nose against his in an eskimo kiss. “You’re the only one for me.”

 

***

 

> Are you coming over later?
> 
>                      Yes. After dinner with everyone.
> 
>                                         Have you eaten yet?
> 
> _Haiiiii_ , _goshujin sama_. ٩(♡ε♡)۶
> 
> _Oi.  
>  _                    I told you to stop calling me that.
> 
> But, Keiiiiiii. :<
> 
>                               No, (y/n). I’ll see you later.
> 
> Fine.
> 
> _Goshujin sama_.  <3
> 
>                                         You’re insufferable.
> 
> You like it. :P
> 
>  

That had been an hour ago, and now Kei was making his way up to (y/n)’s room after letting himself in with the spare key that his fiancée had told him about only a week ago; he would have knocked, but it was already nine in the evening, which meant that Akane- _san_ was already about to go to sleep.

He had just reached the landing when he heard the padding of giant paws against the hardwood floor accompanied by heavy panting before he was knocked back and had to hold on to the banister to keep him from falling down the stairs. “Yuki, no.”

The Great Pyrenees paid no heed to his quiet admonishment as it licked his face, which made him cringe and gently set the dog down. “Yuki, sit.”

Thankfully, the dog sat down. “Stay.” He held a hand out as he said the command, hoping that his fiancée had taught her monster of a dog to stay when instructed; he then sidled towards the room at the end of the hall, not taking his eyes off of the white mass of fur that still sat there by the stairs. “Good girl.”

With that, he twisted the doorknob and let himself in (y/n)’s room, making sure to shut the door and lock it behind him in case Yuki—by some miracle—knew how to open doors as well.

“Kei?” His fiancée chirped as she sat up on her bed and patted the space beside her. “Come here.”

"I’m not a dog, you know?” The blond muttered under his breath as he obeyed (y/n)’s request. When he’d made himself comfortable on her bed, the girl beside him leaned over on all fours and reached out for something on her nightstand, giving him a perfect view of her plump behind and causing him to blush madly up to the tips of his ears.

(Y/n) sat back down beside Kei and put a small, pink box on his lap; the box wasn’t bigger than the _megane_ ’s hand, which puzzled him as he reached out and took the present in his palm before shaking it.

"What's this?" Kei asked curiously as he untied the ribbon holding the box together and lifting the lid, only to practically slam it shut. “(Y/n), what exactly-?!”

By now his face felt like it was burning, and his heart seemed like it was going to burst from how hard it was beating at that moment. He looked at his fiancée who had a coquettish smile on her face, then back at the box in his palm, then back at her, before lifting the lid again and taking out the contents of the box.

"C-condoms.”

(Y/n) would be lying if she said that she wasn’t nervous as hell as she gauged Kei’s reaction to see if she should push through with the second part of her present, but she swallowed past the hesitance that was pulling her back down and boldly moved to straddle her fiancé’s lap and wrap her arms around his neck. 

"It’s alright if you don’t want to do this…” the (h/c) haired girl whispered softly against Kei’s lips as she teasingly pressed butterfly kisses against them.

 

**((LEMON))**

Kei was conflicted: on one hand, he wanted to continue wherever this was heading because—he had to be honest—he’d thought about doing this ever since that night in Tokyo; and on the other hand, he wanted to stop because he didn’t want (y/n) to be forced into doing this, even though she was the one who instigated things.

His mind went blank and a loud moan escaped his lips when (y/n) ground her hips against his half-mast erection; he closed his eyes before pressing his forehead against his fiancée’s shoulder to keep her from seeing just how much her proximity and ministrations were affecting him.

“Yes or no, Kei?” The marginally bold female asked, her voice not giving away even an ounce of the nervousness that she was feeling. Part of her wanted to stop this before she chickened out during the act itself, but another part of her—a bigger part—was eager to get a piece of Kei that no other person had ever gotten before; not that she knew of, anyway.

Silence greeted her question, and (y/n) was about to get off of Kei when he put his hands on her waist and pulled her back down to sit on his lap. “Yes.”

Before (y/n) could answer, Kei had dipped his head and claimed her lips in a hungry and demanding kiss; he wasted no time in finally getting to feel his fiancée’s behind, and he’d be lying if he said that he’d never imagined fondling the mounds of flesh—other than her breasts— that had been taunting him for as long as he could remember; he was a teenager, it was normal to be as hormonal as he was.

“K-Kei!” (Y/n) yelped when she felt the blond’s hands roughly kneading her buttocks. “You’re being too rough.”

“So soft,” the male whispered, almost reverently, before he looked up shyly at (y/n) who was blushing like mad. He chuckled then, taking pride in being the one who put that flustered and lustful expression on his fiancée’s face—and if fate would have it, he would be the only one to make her make that expression.

“ _Oi, oi_ ,” (y/n) reached out behind her and swatted at Kei’s hands, making him slide them back to her waist rather dejectedly. “If you’re gonna touch it, touch it gently. Like…” She let her right hand drift down the blocker’s torso until it stopped at the hem of his shirt, where it then snaked beneath the soft cotton and gingerly tugged at the elastic of his shorts.

“This.”

Kei didn’t know just exactly how to react when his fiancée’s fingers pulled his shorts and boxers down—exposing his erection—before stroking it. He threw his head back and bit his bottom lip to keep from moaning aloud and giving (y/n) the satisfaction of seeing him so out of sorts all because of a hand job.

Before long, the (h/c) haired girl got tired of seeing her lover still managing to cling to his emotions, so she got down on all fours in front of him before she boldly took his erection in her mouth and started running her tongue along the vein under the head of his dick; and Kei, in response, gasped before finally letting out a strangled moan.

(Y/n) smirked around Kei’s erection, continuing bobbing her head up and down along it until his fingers ran through her hair before curling up into a tight grip by the roots. “St-stop.” 

Hesitantly, Kei let go of his grip on his lover’s hair before he knelt on the bed and guided (y/n) to lay down before him. He didn’t know how exactly to proceed with giving his fiancée oral sex, but he’d read about it once and that was the only thing he had to go by—if the handful of times that he’d watched porn didn’t count—so he was going to play this by the ear and just tune in to her reactions to see what she liked.

With a deep breath, he pulled off (y/n)’s panties from beneath her dress and reached out to run his fingers along her slit; she shivered and let out a quiet moan, which he took as a sign of encouragement. Kei leaned down then, his tongue darting out between his lips and taking a few tentative licks at (y/n)’s sensitive clit; and the (h/c) haired girl responded in kind by letting out such an erotic moan that it had Kei’s erection throbbing for release.

He focused on that area until he felt that she was wet enough for the actual act, and he reached out to get one of the condoms that she’d gifted to him before he opened it and rolled it onto his erection. “Are you sure about this?” He asked as he lined up at her entrance.

(Y/n) nodded, smiling as Kei leaned down and caged her between his arms; to ease her fiancé’s worry, she reached up and smoothed the crease between his eyebrows with her thumb before brushing her nose against his in a tender gesture that had the blond taking gazing down at her intently to memorize her features and save it as one of his most treasured memories with her.

Pleasured moans and groans filled the room along with the slapping of skin against skin a few minutes into the act; Kei felt like he was going to lose it every time (y/n) squeezed around his erection, and (y/n) was close to scratching the skin off of her lover’s back with every thrust he made. They were both close and they knew it, but none of them were willing to reach that peak just yet because it would mean the end of their closeness. 

Inevitably, (y/n) reached her climax first before being followed by Kei with a loud moan and one final thrust to expend his release. The blond let himself collapse on top of an equally sweaty (y/n) and he peppered her lips, cheeks, and jaw with butterfly kisses to thank her for giving him a piece of herself that she will never be able to take back.

 

**((END OF LEMON))**

 

"I… I love you, (y/n),” Kei murmured softly, lifting himself up and gazing down at his sleeping fiancée; a bittersweet smile crossed his lips then and he shook his head before reaching out and pulling the sheet over them. “Stubborn woman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, hey! How did you guys like this? I know, I know, the lemon was very subpar; today was an off-day for me. I apologize. :<
> 
> Anyways, I guess this is really it! You guys have to really brace yourselves for the angst and the drama; I just hope no one gets disappointed with the way things will play out. :D
> 
> Shoutouts to em_n_m_e and otakuchips for the wonderful comments! xx


	14. Fake Love

“You should be more excited, Kei! We’re going to be graduating today, so stop scowling,” An older (y/n) (l/n) piped up, clapping her hands together before reaching out and wrapping her arms around her lover’s torso.

A lot of things had changed in the three years that both (y/n) and Kei had been in high school: (y/n)’s hair now fell to the middle of her back, her curves were more pronounced than before, and she had grown a couple more inches so now she stopped just below her lover’s chin; as for Kei, his hair was now longer (after much badgering from (y/n)), his build was more muscular now compared to his lanky build two years before, and he was so much better at volleyball now than he ever was.

Aside from all those superficial things, not much else had changed. People had come and gone in their lives, they’d had their ups and downs in their relationship, but one constant was that their feelings for each other had never changed; though, not one of them had given in and admitted their feelings for the other, taking it all up to fate and simply making the other feel the emotion rather than verbally confirming it.

"You look so handsome today, you know?” The (h/c) haired girl complimented, giggling when she looked up and saw the _megane_ blushing profusely and looking off into the distance where their friends were gathered at the entrance to the gym.

" _Kaichou! Ohayou gozaimasu— a-ano,_ I need your help with the program, please!” (Y/n)’s _kouhai_ and vice president, Takamiya Seiji, stammered out as he bowed and handed her a copy of the program. “I’m sorry! The guest speaker says that he’ll be late and I don’t know what to do.”

Switching into her ‘ _ultimate president mode’_ as Kei liked to call it, (y/n) untangled herself from her lover and received the paper before scanning it. “Let’s go talk to Kirishima- _sensei_ about switching the program to buy him some time, okay?” She turned back to Kei and gave him a sad smile. “I’ll see you later, okay? We’re still going out for lunch; you promised.”

Kei clearly didn’t like being separated from (y/n), but he had no choice than to let her go and do this final duty as the student council president before he could have her all to himself; he would have to stop her from taking up so much extracurricular activities when they got to _Todai_ , so that she would have more time for him. “Okay.”

With that, (y/n) leaned up and pressed a kiss to the blond’s lips before walking off with the mousy Takamiya.

" _Kaichou_ , you’re getting married after graduation, right?” The brunet asked quietly, almost hesitantly. (Y/n) couldn’t help but feel the turmoil in her emotions, and she wanted to frown but held herself back to keep her _kouhai_ from worrying needlessly, instead she forced a smile on to her face as she turned to him. “I hope you have a happy life with Tsukishima- _san_.”

“Thank you, Keiji.”

 

***

 

Lunch was a marginally good affair; with (y/n) trying to act as normally as she could after being shaken back to earth from the illusion that she’d been trying to live in for the past month. She intertwined her fingers through Kei’s as they walked down the busy shopping district on their (possibly) last date in Miyagi before they moved to Tokyo.

"You’re awfully quiet today,” the blond commented idly, seeming as if he wasn’t too bothered with (y/n)’s silence when—deep down— he was worried as hell about her; she’d been off ever since she came back from fixing the schedule with Takamiya, and that did not sit well with him. “Did anything happen?”

“ _Ah? Iie_! I was just thinking…” She looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled sadly up at the tall blocker. “We’re really going to university; it’s so surreal. Do you think I’ll survive in med school?”

"You survived being engaged to me for 5 years,” Kei chuckled, not noticing the pained look that crossed his lover’s face. “You can survive med school; besides, I’ll be there with you, so we’ll have each other.”

Guilt instantly pooled in (y/n)’s stomach, and she wanted to slap herself for having lied to Kei for these past few weeks. She knew that prolonging it would only hurt him more in the end, but she couldn’t bear to see him hurt because of her; it was selfish of her, she knew that. _(Y/n), you have to tell him_.

“Are you sure that you can’t have dinner with me… and my family?” The blond asked flatly, his tone still as stoic as it always had been, but it was in his eyes that (y/n) could see that he was sad that she couldn’t join him or his family; not for this gathering, nor for any other family gathering.

A pang of sadness and guilt hit her as soon as the thought presented itself in her mind; it wasn’t that Kei’s family hater her, but it was the fact that their engagement had been null and void ever since a month ago. It pained her to have been keeping it from him for so long, but she didn’t want to divert his attention from their final exams and his entrance exam to _Tōkyō Daigaku_ , so she’d asked his family to let her be the one to tell the news to him after graduation.

It was purely selfish, her mother’s reason for breaking the engagement; Kei’s father had been the CEO of a local publishing company and had been suddenly fired from his position by the board all because of a deal that had gone awry and had cost the company millions of dollars in losses, not to mention the damage to their reputation which meant client losses and reduced business deals.

(Y/n) could clearly remember the night her mother had told her the news, but she’d never wished to forget something so bad in her life.

 

***

 

_“As of the moment, your engagement to Tsukishima-kun is ineffective,” Reiko (l/n) was ruthless in giving her words to her daughter; she sat upright from behind her expansive oak desk and steepled her fingers in front of her—so different from the woman that (y/n) had known as her mother, and worlds apart from the carefree woman that she’d seen make an appearance in Tokyo two years ago._

_"You can't do that!" The younger (l/n) cried, her emotions all over the place as she didn’t know which one to feel first: hurt, anger, betrayal, disbelief, and a multitude of other forms of hurt and anger that she couldn’t even begin to define. “Why? Why are you doing this now?”_

_"Tsukishima Hotaru has recently been dropped as the CEO of Minagawa Publishing; his family is undergoing a financially rough time right now and they are being investigated as well. Being married to his son will not be beneficial to you or me anymore.” The statement was said so calmly that it enraged (y/n) even further. She got up from her seat across her mother and wiped away the tears in her eyes before glaring at the woman who was supposed to keep her from hurting as much as possible._

_"You're a selfish woman!” The (h/c) haired girl bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at the woman in front of her before letting out all the pent up emotions inside her through tears and quiet sobs. “Kei will need me more now than he ever has, how can you not see that? I’ll still marry him no matter what!”_

_Reiko’s eyes narrowed and her lips stretched down into a scowl that clearly showed her displeasure. “I will take away everything they have left if you do that, (y/n). You’ll only suffer if you marry into that family.”_

_"Y-you can’t do that!” By now (y/n) was enraged, her hands were balled into fists at her sides and she barely resisted the urge to start kicking and screaming at the woman who gave birth to her. “I love him! Can’t you see?”_

_“Love isn’t enough to raise a family; love won’t buy you food when you’re hungry, or get you clothes to keep you warm, or pay for a house to shelter you, or even send your kids to school. Stability comes first before love, (y/n), remember that.”_

_Silence reigned over the mother-daughter duo, with only (y/n)’s sobs filling the silent gaps between them. Until… “I hate you!”_

_With that, the younger (l/n) stormed out of her mother’s office with tears in her eyes and a heavy heart; while Reiko, in turn, cupped her face in her hands and let out the sobs that she’d been holding in for the sake of her daughter. She never wanted to do this, but Tsukishima Hotaru left her no choice as he would only manipulate (y/n) to give him everything that she will inherit when Reiko reached the end of her borrowed time. She knew that she was going to die, and this was her way of protecting the only important person in her life._

***

 

(Y/n) looked up at her lover then, holding back the tears in her eyes and memorizing his beautifully serene features before she destroyed everything that they’d ever had. 

She leaned up then, standing up on her toes and closing her eyes as she promised herself that this would be the last time that she would kiss him; the very last good memory that they would ever share. Once their lips touched, tears instantly pricked the backs of her eyes, and she pushed the unsavory thoughts to the back of her mind as she took this last kiss to memory.

“Kei… I can’t marry you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh! No time for an end note, I'm already running late as it is. Omfg.
> 
> Thank you, everyone! I hope you guys liked the chapter. Sorry if it's all over the place; will edit later.


	15. Love Me or Leave Me

Golden brown eyes gazed at her with a mix of shock and disbelief dimming them; (y/n) closed her eyes and ducked her head so that Kei wouldn’t see the tears that were slowly running down her cheeks. She wanted nothing more than to take back her words but, unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

"This isn’t a funny joke, (y/n),” Kei stated through gritted teeth as his confused and searching expression morphed into one of pain and anger when he saw (y/n)’s sobs wracking her body. “Is it me? Am I not enough anymore?”

The blond didn’t know what to do, he was torn between hitting something and crying his eyes out, and he chose to push his tears back— for (y/n)’s sake; he had to be strong for both of them. “Answer me. Am I… Am I not enough?” He asked again, this time his voice breaking as his tears started rolling down his face. Immediately, he wiped them away with the back of his left hand.

People were starting to whisper and stare at them at that moment, but neither could care less; as far as they were concerned, it was just the two of them.

“You are! But you wouldn’t understand,” (Y/n) cried, finally opening her eyes and looking up at the man who she had no more right to call her fiancé.

“Then make me understand! Is it your mother?”

Silence greeted Tsukishima’s question and, from that, he deciphered that he’d hit the nail on the proverbial head; so, he continued softly, “Is it because my family’s going bankrupt now?”

Once again, silence. The chattering of the people and the cars passing by were deafening as Kei tried to think of what he could possibly do or say to wake up from his worst nightmare; he knew that falling for (y/n) would only end in tears but, oddly enough, he still had no regrets about it. Gingerly, he reached out and let his fingers caress (y/n)’s soft cheek as she continued crying.

"Run away with me.” It sounded like more of a request than a command, and (y/n) wanted nothing more than to grab the opportunity, but she feared that her mother would stay true to her words and make Kei’s family suffer.

She shook her head, which confused and irritated the male before her. “Why?" 

“Don’t you think that I’ve thought of doing that when all of this started?” Her voice broke, but she couldn’t care less as she continued her tirade. “There’s nothing more that I want than to be with you and get married, but my mother warned me that if I do that, she will make your family suffer.”

Kei’s heart felt like it was slowly being constricted with every word that left (y/n)’s mouth, and with that feeling came anger that made his hand drop to his side and clench into a fist. “She can’t do that.”

"I don’t want to tempt her, Kei.”

More people had started looking over at them, so Kei took (y/n) by the hand and dragged her to the nearest alleyway where they stood ensconced between two buildings; well away from prying eyes and gossiping mouths.

“And you’re just letting her do this! Why aren’t you fighting back? Is our relationship not important to you? AM I NOT IMPORTANT TO YOU!?”

A loud slap resonated through the alley, and (y/n) looked down at her hand that had just slapped Kei across the face before she burst into more tears. “I’m not fighting her because she might be wrong, but she’s still my mother! How can you ask me all those things when you know that I love you?”

Instantly, shame flooded through Kei and he hung his head as he ran his hands through his hair, all the while trying—and failing—to hold his tears back. He knew that he shouldn’t have snapped at her like that, but it had been his defensive reflex kicking in and pushing all the blame on her.

“I’m sorry, (y/n).”

Again, silence that was filled with quiet sniffles.

“I have one last request… before we go our separate ways,” Kei wiped away the tears that stained his cheeks as he looked up and into (y/n)’s glassy eyes. Never in the five years that they’d been together would he have thought that he’d be begging her for something like this, and he used to laugh at the poor saps who were reduced to this, but now he understood why they did it: because they were in so deep that they couldn’t possibly let go; not now, nor in the near future, or maybe until the day they took their last breath. “Give me one more day where you’re mine; one more day where we can pretend that it’s not going to be the last.”

"Okay.”

 

***

 

That night, (y/n) didn’t spend it alone—like majority of the nights throughout the years—but that particular night was, hands down, the most memorable one; maybe it was the fact that it was their last night together, or maybe because it was because Kei kept telling her how much he loved her, but it felt so amazing that (y/n) never wanted it to end.

She knew that it was going to hurt extra bad when their twenty-four hours were over, but that pain would be worth it if it meant having memories to cling to.

“Why do you love me, Kei?” (Y/n) asked softly as she laid her head on the blond’s chest and started drawing circles across the soft skin beneath her.

Kei licked his suddenly dry lips, simultaneously stretching an arm out and wrapping it around (y/n)’s bare shoulders so that he could pull her closer. “I have no idea; I just do.”

"There must be a reason; so stingy,” The (h/c) haired girl teased, patting the blond’s chest once before she giggled. “I’ll begin: I love you because…” Instantly, the mirthful expression on (y/n)’s face was subdued into a softer look as she gazed up at the man who’d made her fall in love. “Because you always make me smile… and you always bring me soup when I’m sick… and you’re the only one who’s ever made me feel like I matter.”

The blond didn’t take his eyes away from the ceiling even as tears pooled in his eyes and rolled down the sides of his face; it was completely unlike him to be this emotional, but he didn’t know how else to release his pain. He remained silent for a while, letting his tears continue flowing as he thought of what to say. “I love you,” he began thickly, “just because.”

“Hinata was right, you **are** stingy,” (Y/n) joked, snuggling even closer to Kei and ignoring his silent sniffles to save him the embarrassment that he was inevitably going to feel if she pointed out the fact that he was crying. She tried so hard to stay upbeat and jovial up until the moment he started shedding tears, and now her happy façade was starting to fray at the edges as her throat thickened up and her eyes started stinging with more unshed tears.

 

***

 

(Y/n) didn’t even know that she’d fallen asleep until she felt the uncomfortable feeling of someone staring intently at her, which had her opening her eyes to check if her feeling was right; lo and behold, right there—with his right hand propping his head up and his left hand gently stroking the ends of her hair—was a wide awake Tsukishima Kei.

"You should be sleeping," she murmured sleepily, her eyes already drifting closed with every passing second, until Kei opened his mouth to speak.

"I wanted to see your sleeping face,” the blond forced out through his lips as they quivered with the barely restrained sobs that he’d been holding back ever since he’d woken up an hour ago. “This is the last time that I’m going to see you drool while you sleep, you know?”

(Y/n) didn’t have the words to answer him, she just reached out and pressed herself tightly against him to provide even an ounce of comfort for Kei. She wanted to tell him that they could still be together since they would both be going to _Todai_ for medical school, but that would be a bold-faced lie, as she’d received the letter from the university telling her that she didn’t pass the university’s grade requirements two weeks ago. She couldn’t keep him holding on because, it might have been killing her inside just thinking about it, but Kei deserved to be happy, even if it was with someone who wasn’t her.

She could do nothing but hold Kei close and pray that, somehow, fate will bring her back to him.

 

***

 

(Y/n) still wasn’t a morning person; she hated waking up as soon as the sun started rising, but she loved waking up and seeing Kei still peacefully asleep beside her. She’d expected him to be there next to her, with his eyes closed and his brows furrowed a little as his lips moved along with his breathing, but today the sheets beside her had been cold, which meant that it had been some time since he’d left; and this time she wasn’t going to see him waiting for her at the corner of the street like he always did.

"Kei, you idiot,” she whispered brokenly as she stared dumbly at the empty space beside her. “We still had a few hours left.”

She wiped her tears away with the backs of her hands, letting out the loudest and ugliest sobs that she could as she called out Kei’s name over and over like a broken record; until she clenched her hand into a fist and punched the pillow that the blond had been laying on during the time he was there. “ _Baka_. You didn’t even say goodbye.”

She scanned the room hopelessly, silently wishing that Kei was just joking around and would come sauntering into the room with a smirk on his face; and she waited, and waited, until she spotted a small, teal box at the foot of the bed that had her scrambling up to get it.

(Y/n) took the parcel in her hands and lifted the lid, only to see a note lying atop a teal stethoscope; immediately, she fished the note from the box and read it.

 

**_Knock them dead in Todai. Not literally, please._ **

****

A choked laugh escaped her lips and more tears flowed down her face as she turned the paper over to look for anything more that Kei had to say, and she wasn’t let down.

**_I love you because you gave meaning to my existence._ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the drama fest I have going on here; there will be more where that came from. :D
> 
> Anyways, I was planning on updating tomorrow, but I just found out that my old nanny passed away and I'm going to be at her wake; though, I feel conflicted because even though she raised me ever since I was born up until I was 12, I don't feel as sad as I think I should be. So, there's that.
> 
> Shoutouts to em_n_m_e and PumpkinLady for the wonderful comments!


	16. Harsh Reality

Leaving (y/n) had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do in his life. He was so tempted to stay there beside her and spend the rest of whatever time they had left together, but he couldn’t bring himself to even think of saying goodbye to her, and—it might have been selfish of him, but—he didn’t want to see the crestfallen look on her face when it was time for them to say goodbye.

Kei took a deep breath as he prepared himself to face his family after all that had happened; a part of him wanted to lash out and be angry at them, but another part was just… defeated—backed into a corner with no possible chance of fighting back because everything that mattered to him had just been taken away.

“Kei- _chan_!” Akiteru greeted as cheerfully as his somber mood would allow, only to lose the façade the moment he saw his brother’s bloodshot eyes and disheveled appearance; it was as if he’d been in a bar fight instead of with his— with (y/n). He had to get used to the idea that the (h/c) haired girl would no longer be his sister-in-law.

It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together, and Akiteru instantly felt piles upon piles of guilt as soon as he realized that Kei knew about Reiko (l/n) cutting off all ties with their family.

"How long have you known?” The younger of the siblings asked, his brows furrowing in anger and confusion and his eyes narrowing in warning. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I found out two weeks after _otou-san_ was fired from his job; (y/n) was the one who told me about it,” Akiteru explained softly, placing his hands palms up in front of his chest to placate his younger brother. “(Y/n) asked us to keep it from you because she wanted you to go to pass the entrance exam and attend _Todai_.”

A flood of thoughts instantly bombarded the younger Tsukishima’s head, all of them with a piece of a whole other question that he had been wanting to ask (y/n) ever since last night.

“Me? She’s going there as well; we can still see-” Kei said helplessly, feeling like he was merely grasping at straws in his attempt to clear the turmoil in his mind.

“She won’t be there, Kei.” Finally, the older of the pair raised his voice, which instantly snapped his younger brother to attention. Kei looked at him intently, the unspoken question burning in his gaze. “She was in tears when she called me the moment she received the letter saying that she didn’t pass the grade requirement for _Todai_ ; but we think that it was her mother pulling some strings to get her as far away from you as possible.”

Before Akiteru could stop his brother, Kei had already clenched his right hand into a fist and punched one of the walls surrounding them; blood instantly poured from the open wound and Kei could only click his tongue in irritation as he stared at the rivulets of scarlet liquid flow from his knuckles and paint the wall with somber lines.

“She can’t do this,” the bespectacled blond muttered under his breath.

“What are you planning, Kei?”

“Nothing you should concern yourself about,” Kei answered acidly, his expression taking on a serious one that had his brother praying that he wouldn’t do something as stupid as to confront Reiko (L/n).

“Don’t do it if you’re thinking of doing what I think you want to do,” Akiteru warned. “You might just lose whatever you have left.”

At his brother’s words, anger bubbled up inside Kei, and he reached up with his bloodied hand to grasp Akiteru’s shirt and pull him close with the aim to intimidate. “I don’t have anything else to lose because I lost everything when I found out that I couldn’t marry the only woman I’ve ever loved.”

Golden brown eyes stared back intently at hazel ones, neither backing down from the stare-off in hopes to convince the other to relent; until Akiteru looked away from Kei’s frightening glare. “Do whatever you want, but think about if (y/n) will like what you’re planning to do.”

"She won't. But I’m still doing it to get her back.”

 

***

 

The following morning found Kei with his phone practically glued to his ear, waiting for Reiko (l/n)’s secretary to tell him when the older woman would be free and where she would be at that time. It was a feat in itself that the secretary had indulged his request to make an appointment with his ex-fiancée’s mother, but it was a miracle that the woman on the other line was looking for even a free minute of Reiko’s time so that he could see her; he didn’t know if all of Reiko’s employees knew about the nullification of the engagement, but he couldn’t care less as long as he got to talk to her. 

"I’m sorry, Tsukishima- _san_ , but (L/n)- _san_ ’s schedule is full today,” the woman stated softly, almost too sympathetically, as Kei clicked his tongue in irritation. It was now obvious that this useless woman had been stringing him all along and, in retaliation, he dropped the call without even a goodbye.

With no other options left, Kei had to think of another way to even just be in the same place as Reiko (L/n) at the same time; and he sat down to think of which of her companies she could be at this time. After an hour and a half of recalling memories and singling out those of which Reiko mentioned which company in her conglomerate that she was currently focusing on, he had nothing. His only option now was to check which of the companies within and around Torono Town he could go to today and hope that she was at one of them.

And now here he was, standing outside (L/N) Media Networks just outside of Torono and hoping to all hell that Reiko would be at this one. He’d gone to building after building, asking if his ex-fiancée’s mother was present and only receiving curt and varying answers of how she hadn’t come in that day in reply.

“Please,” Kei whispered as he closed his eyes and said a quick prayer for luck. He wasn’t religious by any stretch but, right now, he needed all the divine intervention that he could get. “Please let her be here.”

As soon as he reached out to open the glass doors, the elevator on the other side of the lobby opened, which had his attention as the person he’d been looking for all day stepped out of the compact but lavish space with practically an armada of assistants following after her like obedient dogs.

Immediately, as if his body had a mind of his own, Kei pushed past the doors and raced up to the purple-haired woman before bowing deeply. “(L/n)- _san_!”

The clicking of heels against marble tile stopped, and Kei saw the red tips of his supposed mother-in-law’s shoes in his line of sight; he remained bowed, not as a sign of docility but in fear that he would lash out at the woman who took (y/n) away from him.

Silence stretched between the two as people looked on. Until, “Fujioka, give me the reports on the Matsutama deal.” Then, the clicking of heels resumed as Reiko started walking away from Kei even with her guilt practically eating at her. 

She knew that her decision in dissolving the engagement between (y/n) and Kei would do more harm than good, but she wasn’t willing to risk having her daughter ending up like her: married to a penniless man with an equally penniless family, struggling to make ends meet each day, and eventually being left alone by said man to raise their daughter by herself; and to add in the fact that Tsukishima Hotaru might have seemed like a nice man to his family, but was really a greedy man who cared for nothing but money would only put her daughter in harms’ way. Reiko wasn’t willing to risk anything taking (y/n)’s bright future from her, even if it meant that (y/n) hated her.

"Why, (L/n)- _san_? At least tell me why.” Kei bellowed in the vast lobby, his voice echoing off the granite walls and once again silencing the clicking of heels against marble.

It went against every cell in Reiko’s body to leave without answering the blond’s question, so she closed her eyes and steeled her emotions then said, “Because you’ll only make my daughter suffer. There are others out there, Tsukishima- _kun_ ,” before she continued walking away; now even more briskly than before.

Kei stood there numbly, his mouth slightly parted in stupefaction and his mind racing a mile a minute before he willed his shaky legs to follow (y/n)’s mother out of the building where she was getting inside a sleek, black car. He wanted to give chase, but his eyes had started blurring with unshed tears and his legs had stayed practically rooted to where he stood, “But she’s the only one for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello! I hope you guys liked this, even though it didn't seem like it had much substance; but look at the change in Kei. It felt weird portraying him as an emotional and loving fiancé... ex-fiancé, rather. :D Love makes people do some crazy (and stupid) things; trust me, I "was" Kei once.
> 
> Please, please, please drop by the comments section and leave me something; it lets me know if you guys liked it or not, which helps me do better on the next chapter. Thank you!!


	17. Full Circle

(Y/n) had thought that the worst day of her life was when Kei left her without even saying goodbye, but that couldn’t compare the the severity of her feelings when she received the visit from the man who served as her personal assistant when she was in Tokyo.

Kyōsuke had told her that he had been appointed as her permanent assistant and temporary guardian, because she was being ordered to move to the United Kingdom by none other than her mother. (Y/n) knew that Reiko was a ruthless woman, but she never knew that she would stoop this low to get her away from Kei; she didn’t remember doing anything to contact Kei even though she was sorely tempted to send him even a handwritten letter, so she deduced that something must have happened in the five weeks that herself and her ex-fiancé had gone their separate ways.

She would be lying if she said that she was expecting the radio silence from Kei of all people, because she knew him well enough to know that he would try everything he could to get ahold of her even if she was being monitored at all times; he might deny up and down that he would do everything to talk to her, but they both knew that he had done it once already and would do it again. So why the silence?

“Why the suddenness?” She wasn’t trying to be rude to the messenger, but it came out as clipped and impolite because of the frustration that she felt over Kei. “I don’t even have a student visa for that.”

“Everything you will need has been taken care of, (y/n)- _sama_ ,” Kyōsuke answered softly, truly feeling sorry for his new mistress as her eyes showed the anguish that she felt over the news. So, he decided to give her something to hold on to; a lifeline, per se. “I believe that Kei- _sama_ had been causing a ruckus in Tokyo by demanding a meeting with Reiko- _sama_ about your former engagement.”

“But why make me move? Kei’s already in Tokyo!”

“Pardon me, (y/n)- _sama_ , but I think that your mother is afraid that Kei- _sama_ will take advantage of her absence here in Miyagi and will come back from Tokyo to take you away,” the older man answered politely, bowing deeply before straightening his posture once more.

At the news, (y/n)’s heart had started pounding hard in her chest; she was torn between wanting to laugh and doing a fistpump for the sheer pleasure of it, and wanting to shake her head and feeling sorry for her beloved blond, so she did neither. Outwardly, she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together while internally, she struggled to think of any way to tell Kei that, even though she’d told him time and time again that he should never give up, it was now time to let everything go. But how?

“I’ll go without a fight, if—and only if—you deliver a letter to Kei without letting my mother know, Kyōsuke,” (Y/n) hated pulling rank on anyone, but this wasn’t the time to be finicky about her principles; she had to tell Kei to stop before he hurt himself.

 

***

 

That night was more draining than all of the nights after she and Kei had agreed to spend one last day together; not only was it emotionally draining, but it was physically and mentally draining as well, because she’d spent most of the night trying to construct a letter that she had no idea if Kei would keep or throw away after reading.

With every page that she crumpled up and threw away, her tears still remained constant and stained the ivory paper that she’d been writing on; evidence that she wanted to erase as she knew that it would only hurt Kei when he saw how much pain she was in. 

By the time that she reached the end of her letter, another blunder hit her as her left hand slowly drifted down to rest on her lower abdomen. She had no certainties if her suspicions were true, but all of the signs pointed to one answer for everything that she was experiencing: from her unexplainable morning sickness, to her constant fatigue. But she couldn’t spring that on him could she? Not after telling him in the letter that it was time to give her up; to give _them_ up.

She couldn’t keep him holding on because there was no certainty if it was true, or if she ever would come back; even if it meant that the child she suspected that she was carrying would grow up without a father. She couldn’t rob Kei of his future.

More tears gathered in her eyes, and sobs wracked her entire body as she now cupped both hands over her still-flat stomach. “I’m so sorry.”

 

***

 

Apprehension and anxiety wafted from Kei as he sat stock-still in the foyer of one of Reiko (l/n)’s telecommunications companies as he waited for his appointed meeting time with her. Finally, after almost a month of chasing after the woman, he’d finally been granted an audience with her; she didn’t even need to talk, he just wanted her to listen. 

“Tsukishima- _san_ , (L/n)- _sama_ is ready to see you,” the snarky, pug-faced receptionist stated flatly before she led Kei through the maze-like hallways leading to his supposed mother-in-law’s office.

Once the doors opened before him, he was greeted by a place that was familiar to him. He wracked his brain to remember where he’d seen it before, and came across the memory of him sitting down in exactly the same office back in (y/n)’s home in Miyagi. He sat down across Reiko after she waved a hand at him to do so, and he was hit with a bittersweet sense of nostalgia as he remembered the day that this woman and his parents told him that he was going to be engaged to (y/n).

Reiko looked up from her paperwork as soon as the blond before her cleared his throat, and she had to steel her emotions when she saw the number that being away from her daughter had done to him; there were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days, his skin was paler than before, and—overall—he looked like a man who’d lost everything in life. She felt sorry for him, but it still wasn’t enough to simply hand over her daughter.

“You’ve been wondering why I cut the engagement so suddenly?” the purple-haired woman began, not giving Kei a chance to interject as she answered her own question. “It’s because I’m dying, Tsukishima- _kun_. 

“Dying?” Kei asked, completely confused at the older woman’s vague reply.

Reiko nodded, slipping off her glasses and steepling her hands in front of her. “Simply put, I have three months left to live. I thought I had more; that’s why I agreed on letting (y/n) be engaged to you, because I thought that I still had a lot more time to tie up loose ends concerning your engagement. I wanted someone to take care of (y/n) after I died, and your family was a perfect candidate because you had money, both of your parents were still there, and you showed promise; enough promise to be the next CEO of the (l/n) media conglomerate.”

“But we got bankrupt.”

“That’s one of the factors that made me decide against the wedding; another one is the fact that when I die, you and (y/n) will still be unmarried, and your father will do everything to get everything that I will leave to my daughter. I know my daughter—I was her once—and she will give everything up if it meant that she would be with you, and I don’t want her to have to give anything up for anyone. I never want her to go through the same things I did when I decided to marry her good-for-nothing father. You might not understand what I’m saying now, but you will in the future.”

Kei didn’t know what to say. On one hand, he was totally insulted that his separation from (y/n) had to do with money, while on the other hand, he understood where Reiko was coming from. He wanted to fight back and tell her that she was wrong, but who was he to tell a dying woman not to protect her only child. 

“She wrote a letter for you.” The older woman reached into her desk and pulled out an ivory envelope before sliding it over to Kei, who could only stare dumbly at (y/n)’s familiar handwriting before he reached a shaky hand out and grasped the heavy material. “She didn’t want me to know, and her assistant wanted to give it to you personally, but Akane- _san_ intercepted him and gave the letter to me.”

Gingerly, almost hesitantly, he opened the flap of the sealed envelope and took a deep breath before he pulled out the single piece of paper that was folded neatly to fit in the packet.

> _Kei,_
> 
> _Kyōsuke told me what’s been going on there in Tokyo, and I want to say that I’m happy that you’re fighting, but I can’t because I’m worried about you. I know that you still have two more months before classes start, but this isn’t the way to spend your break. I remember constantly telling you not to give up on anything you want, but this is me telling you that you should stop fighting for us before you get hurt._
> 
> _I wanted to tell you so many things, and ask you so many questions, like why you think the sky is blue, or if clouds will feel like cotton candy if you condense them enough, but I have to come to terms that I might never get the chance to ask you those stupid questions. I would be lying if I said that I’m not hurting right now, but I have to pretend that I’m still strong because if I don’t, I don’t know what will happen to me._
> 
> _I’m scared to face this world without you, Kei; I always want you by my side to comfort me when I’m lonely, and to hold me when I think that my world is about to implode. I’m scared that I’ll always look for you in everyone I meet, even though I know that I can never love anyone the way I love you. I’m afraid that I’ll always be this empty girl without you._
> 
> _There’s nothing more I want than to run away with you, but I can’t do something so selfish when I know that it will affect so many people negatively, and I also can’t do that because I won’t be here in Miyagi anymore. I’ll be moving to London for university; we’ve always wanted to go there, right? I’ll be sure to enjoy it for the both of us. Please don’t do anything stupid like look for me there, because we both know that you thought of it the instant you saw the second sentence._
> 
> _I would say that I’ll send you postcards and care packages, but this will be the last time that I’ll contact you; not because I don’t love you, but because I love you too much to keep you holding on. I want you to be happy even though just the thought of you being with somebody else kills me inside._
> 
> _I wish you all the luck and happiness in the world, Kei._
> 
> _I’ll always love you._
> 
> _Your (Y/n)._

After reading the letter, it was as if all the fight had been sucked out of Kei. His shoulders were slumped and he was hunched over the tear-stained letter, as he bit his bottom lip to muffle his sobs. He felt a myriad of emotions bombard him all at once, but now it was eerie because he just felt empty inside, just like how he used to be before (y/n).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg! Thank you guys so much for all the support! I am very humbled to be on the receiving end of such an audience. I can never say just how much you guys make my day when you comment (or simply just read).
> 
> The next chapter may or may not be the last one for this story; it all depends on if I think it's lacking closure. I hope you guys will like it. <3
> 
> Shoutouts to em_n_m_e, Tatum, and Steph for the wonderful comments! <3


	18. Pain

It was the moment when the sun was starting to kiss the edges of the moon that (y/n) had finally received the news that she’d been waiting for all week. Kyōsuke had hung up his coat in the closet by the foyer before making a beeline for his anxious mistress, who still sat in the living room where he’d left her hours ago. 

The raven-haired man handed the envelope to the fragile-looking woman before him and she accepted it graciously before deftly taking a look at the printed results. (Y/n) had been doubtful about the accuracy of home-based pregnancy tests, and had opted to have herself tested at a hospital, two weeks after she’d moved into the townhouse that was legally her mother’s, but temporarily hers.

She didn’t know how exactly to react; all she knew was that she was equally happy and sad about the results that she’d read on that sheet of paper. Kyōsuke knelt down in front of her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Forgive me for asking, but may I know the results, (y/n)- _sama_?”

(Y/n) looked up then, feeling her resolve crumble at the sight of her assistant’s compassionate gaze, before her tears started to fall. “I’m going to have a baby.”

"Do you want to share the news with the madam?” Kyōsuke asked softly, almost hesitantly, as he dreaded the answer that he was sure (y/n) was going to give him.

“ _I-iie,_ I’d rather she didn’t know,” the girl looked back down at the paper in her hands as she shook her head. “She’d tell me to get rid of ‘it’, anyway.”

 

***

 

Nothing could have prepared (y/n) for when things took a turn for the worse. It had been a month since she’d moved to the bustling city of London, when she’d received the call that turned her world even more into a mess than it already was.

Everything was a blur as she stuffed a couple of her belongings into a bag before grabbing her passport and wallet to take with her to the airport. In all her life, she’d never been more scared or frantic; not even when she and Kei had been forced to part ways. This was another tangle of pain in the thread that was (y/n)’s life.

“(Y/n)- _sama_ , please slow down,” Kyōsuke cried as he hurried to lock the door behind him while carrying his small duffel bag of personal items. “(Y/n)- _sama_!”

The older man could only call out and run after his mistress, as said mistress hailed a cab and practically threw herself into the car. Thankfully, the cabbie had noticed that (y/n) had a companion and had waited for Kyōsuke before listening to the girl’s frantic pleas to take her to Heathrow Airport.

"What do you mean that there's no direct flight to Switzerland?” (Y/n) cried hysterically as she shed tears in front of the ground stewardess at the check-in counter. “There has to be something! Please. It’s urgent! My mother’s dying.”

By then, her English had started coming out in choppy syllables that made it difficult, but not impossible, to decipher even to the most trained of ears. The stewardess could only look at her in pity as she continued looking for any flights that would take the young girl to where her mother was, and had been staying for the past few weeks.

(Y/n) wanted to scream; her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest and her head was pounding so hard from thinking of everything that she should have done when her mother had first tried to reach out to her weeks before. She regretted not picking up her phone to answer Reiko’s calls, and regretted it even more when she refused to see her mother when she flew to London from Switzerland just to talk to her.

She thought that her mother had been going there purely for business, but now she had come to the realization that Reiko had been going there for years now, and had always come back a little paler and a little thinner than she had been before. (Y/n) had never took the time to notice, but she now knew that her mother had been ill all along.

Guilt and sorrow filled her heart and made it sink down to the pit of her stomach, and with her wracking sobs, her legs gave up beneath her—which had her clinging to the counter for support as Kyōsuke reached out to catch her and help her up.

"(Y/n)- _sama_ , please have a seat. I’ll do everything I can,” the older man carefully guided his mistress to one of the vacant seats, letting her sit down and rest as he fished for his phone in his pocket and took a few steps away.

More tears rolled down the devastated girl’s face, and she wiped them away hopelessly. Suddenly, her phone started ringing in her pocket, and she picked it up—checking the caller ID before answering through sobs. “ _Okaa-san_ ,” she put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sob that inevitably escaped her lips.

“I’m sorry that I’m leaving you alone, (y/n),” Reiko’s weak voice answered softly, almost breathily. “I wanted to wait for you, but I think it’s almost time.”

“Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry, _mama_. I’m sorry if I hurt you.” Uncontrollable sobs left (y/n)’s lips even as she tried to hold them back; on the other line, however, Reiko was holding back her own heart wrenching sobs as she held tightly to the phone she held to her ear. She knew that living this long was a miracle that she should be thankful for, but she wanted to take back her decision years ago to not get the treatment that she needed for her leukemia if it meant that she would get to spend more time with her daughter.

“I understand, (y/n); it’s my fault, anyway. I deserved how you acted towards me.” Silence reigned on the line for a couple of seconds until Reiko’s shaky laugh echoed into (y/n)’s ear. “Do you remember when I had to leave you at school for the first time? You cried so much that I had to stay and stand outside the classroom just so you would stay calm. I was afraid that no one would take care of you if I left.”

By now it felt like a waterfall had formed from (y/n)’s eyes, and she forced a laugh out to cover up the close to unbearable ache in her heart that she felt. “ _Okaa-san_.”

“I’m still afraid that no one will take care of you when I’m gone; I wanted it to be Kei and his family, but a few complications came up. I took you away from him because I know that his father will only use you for his own gain, and I don’t want that for my little girl.” Reiko whispered into the phone, lifting her free hand up and gently wiping her tears away so as not to agitate the IV needles beneath her skin. “As long as Kei is under his father’s jurisdiction, it won’t be safe for you.”

The realization hit (y/n) hard across the face, and she felt even more horrible as her mother kept on explaining her intentions when he’d agreed to the engagement between her and Kei; she’d only wanted to make sure that (y/n) would be taken care of when she passed, and she knew that she was living on borrowed time.

“Why didn’t you get treated, _okaa-san_? You had the money for it... and all those trips to Switzerland.”

“I didn’t want you to see my pain, (y/n); and I didn’t want you to live in constant fear if it was going to be my last day. I’m glad I did that, because I got to see you grow up into a wonderful woman.”

“I won’t be alone, _okaa_ - _san_ ,” (y/n) muttered unevenly through her sniffles and tears. “I’m having a baby.”

Reiko expected anger and disappointment to course through her at the news, but only relief was there as she closed her eyes tiredly and let a content smile creep onto her lips. “I should be disappointed, but I’m happy. You were the best gift that I’d ever been blessed with, and I hope your baby will be special to you as you are to me. I love y-”

" _Okaa-san? Okaa-san_?” Frantically, (y/n) kept calling for her mother louder and louder, only to be answered by the urgent orders from people on the other side and the shrill sound of a flatline on a heart monitor. “ _Mama_! Please don’t leave me! I need you!”

It was in that moment that (y/n) knew what true loss was. In the span of a few months, she’d lost everything: her home, her fiancé, and now her mother; and amidst all of her emotions, she realized one important thing: pain is something that’s a constant in everyone’s life; pain will knock you down at your weakest, but it will also be one of the things that will keep you going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh! I hope I didn't make anyone cry, but writing this chapter had me crying so much (never in all the years that I'd been writing—and there have been MANY years—had I cried so much while writing). Maybe it's because I based Reiko off my mom (and based her relationship with her daughter on mine and my mom's relationship), or maybe it's because I'm in just an emotional mood. Who knows? But I was crying almost non-stop while listening to a local song called "Iingatan Ka" by carol Banawa. That was my jam back in the '90s. >:D
> 
> Anyways, shoutout to em_n_m_e for the awesome comment! <3


	19. Home

If (y/n) could have one wish, it would be for the years to have been kinder to her; especially when she needed it the most. But wishes were things that she knew only came true for those who really deserved them, so she’d stopped wishing altogether. 

“Haruka, are your things ready?” (Y/n) called up the stairs in a perfect slew of Japanese; it was as if she hadn’t been away from her home country for six years now.

“Ah, Mum, I… _hai_. _Watashi no…_ luggage _wa_ ,” the child called Haruki peered down at her mother with her hand curled up into an ‘ok’ sign. Her Japanese was still mediocre at best, which is why (y/n) was worried that her daughter would have a hard time attending a regular school back in Japan, and has been considering sending her to an international school instead. “Okay _desu_.”

The (h/c) haired woman couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter’s antics; she was a breath of fresh air in the gloomy, corporate world that (y/n) had entered—and was about to formally conquer.

Of course, having a five-year-old was going to be quite a handful once she reached Japan and started working full time as the CEO of the (L/n) Media Conglomerate, but she would be sure not to make the same mistakes that took her mother away from her for days at a time; which eventually led to the unamendable rift in their relationship. 

In the six years that (y/n) had stayed in London, so many things had happened: she’d taken up a business degree and graduated at the top of her class at the London School of Economics, had managed her mother’s conglomerate from where she was and, most notably, had Tsukishima Haruka and had raised her well.

At first, the young mother was conflicted about whether to give her surname or Kei’s surname to their daughter, but she knew that it would be best if Haruka knew even her father’s surname in case anything was to happen to (y/n). Yes, (y/n) knew that Kyōsuke would take care of her little angel if anything bad happened to her, but she felt more at ease with the safety net of Kei’s last name guarding Haru; now she knew exactly how her mother had felt when she was born.

Of course, Haru had asked why her surname was different from her mother’s, but (y/n) always played it off with a smile and a few games until her daughter forgot that she’d even asked it the first place. It was getting much harder to keep it from her nowadays, but (y/n) was thinking of coming clean, and soon.

“Madam,” Kyōsuke began softly as he looked up from his checklist. “Are you ready to go home?”

 

***

 

“Tsukki!” An ecstatic Yamaguchi practically bounced into the peaceful coffee shop and effectively disturbed said peace. He immediately made a bee line for the remote to the muted television screen and scrolled through channels until he found the one that had brought him to his friend in the first place. “Watch!” 

“What’s going on, Yamaguchi?” Kei asked his long-time friend, putting down the mug that he’d been wiping dry and turning his gaze to the television. Immediately, his eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat; and all the while, his heart started pounding hard in his chest as if it was going to leap out any second.

Yamaguchi looked around the marginally empty shop before raising the volume a little bit so that they could hear what was happening at the press conference for the (L/n) Media Conglomerate. “Do you think that it’s-”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.” Kei snapped halfheartedly, his eyes never leaving the man speaking about the future of the company and its new CEO. With one final introduction, the speaker welcomed the woman that Kei had been secretly hurting over for the past six years.

She was still as beautiful as the last time he saw her, and it made his heart hurt even more when the thought that she might not be his anymore touched the frays of his mind.

“Good morning, everyone.” It was hard to believe that that voice belonged to the same bubbly woman that he’d been engaged to for five years; her voice now had a perfect English accent that seemed to caress even the ears of the customers inside the café, as they all looked up at the television simultaneously. “I know that it has been quite a long time since the (L/n) Conglomerate has gathered for a press conference; I can say that this is a step in the right direction, as my late mother would have wanted it. I am not saying that I will merely run things like she did, but it is my ideal—and my purpose—to run this conglomerate much better than she, or anyone in my family, has ever handled our business.”

Kei could only stare in awe as his ex-fiancé wowed her audience with her perfect English, and enamored them even further with the weight of her words. A small, sad smile stretched his lips up at the corners and he scoffed to cover up the thickness welling in his throat—a sign that he was close to tears. He picked up the dish towel that he’d unknowingly dropped the moment (y/n) stepped up to the podium, and continued drying the coffee mugs that he’d washed a while ago.

He might have looked like he wasn’t paying attention to his (y/n)’s speech, with his downcast face and hunched shoulders but, the truth was, he was taking every word she said to his heart—because it felt amazing to finally hear her voice again after so many years.

The blond paused in his ministrations, as his hands had gone shaky and his grip had grown weak with every tear that dropped onto the backs of his work-roughened hands.

" _Sumimasen_ ,” Kei muttered gruffly before retreating into the back room where he kept all of the stocks. He closed and locked the door behind him, pressing his back against the cool wood as he let his tears flow freely down his face.

He should be happy that (y/n) was back, but why was he hurting so much?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!!!! What does a girl have to do to get comments around here? Haha. Just kidding. Thank you so much for all the support! We're almost at the end. Almost.
> 
> I'm sorry if it was short, I wanted everything to blow up in the next chapter. Ahahahaha. I apologize in advance.
> 
> Anyways, thank you again. You guys know who you are. I would do shoutouts, but I have to get to sleepsince I need to get up at 3:30 AM to go to the market; freshest ingredients and all that good stuff. Ah, to be a culinary student.
> 
> The songs that were on repeat for this chapter:  
> Somewhere Down the Road by Nina  
> Colors (Stripped) by Halsey  
> You by Jona


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italicized words in English are actually said in English.

It seemed like it was going to be a bright and sunny day in Tokyo when Tsukishima Kei arrived at the coffee shop in Ikebukuro; he hated it. He wanted the weather to coincide with the turmoil in his emotions: confusion, pain, longing, and a hint of anger; all in all, a maelstrom of feelings that were further dampening his constantly damp mood.

He sighed heavily before pushing past the glass double doors. The sight that greeted him was the same as always: two of his five employees already wiping tables down and arranging the newspapers for their regular customers who consistently stopped by the shop to get their fix of coffee and news before they went to their respective companies nearby.

“Good morning, boss!” His long-time employee, Watanabe Rika, greeted in her usual cheerful fashion, not batting an eyelash at her employer’s curt and somewhat rude ‘morning’ response; and she handed him a copy of the paper, like she always did.

The blond received the _shinbun_ quietly, glancing down at the front-page article and taking a deep breath to mask the surprise on his face. His surprise now couldn’t rival his expression when he’d found out that he passed the National Medical Licensing Board Examination last month and had finally become Dr. Tsukishima; all he had to worry about now was where he would be attending his two-year residency, or so he thought.

Glancing down at the smiling face printed on the newspaper, he pushed back the overwhelming feelings that were threatening to swallow him alive. His eyebrows were furrowed in frustration, and his mouth was set into a thin line that showed his contempt and sadness. He never thought that seeing (y/n) being happy without him would make him feel like… this.

In the picture, she was wearing the same form-fitting dress that she wore during the press conference yesterday; she was walking in front of a group of assistants—much like her mother in that aspect, save for the genuine smile on her face as she waved at the cameras watching her every move. Her hair now fell to her shoulders in soft waves, her features were sharper than before, and she looked much more voluptuous compared to when they were younger; she was still gorgeous.

“Uhhh… _s-sumimasen_ , _Anata ga_ … open?” Kei looked over his shoulder as to who had asked the rather funny question in broken Japanese, only to find a tiny, blond girl peering her head into the shop.

Her eyes roamed around the light interior of the shop before she stopped on Kei himself. “Mister, _anata ga_ open… _a… akemasu_?”

He couldn't help it, a small—almost imperceptible—smirk crept onto his lips as he tossed the newspaper down on one of the tables close to him before opening the door further for the pint-sized toddler waiting there. Silently, he patted his younger self on the back for paying attention during English class. “ _We’re open. Come in._ ”

“Haruka- _sama_ , _please let me order for you._ ” A frazzled-looking lady in her early twenties hovered behind the girl, fidgeting with her fingers in an attempt to calm her nerves down.

“ _Mummy says I’m a big girl now, so I can do it,_ ” the little girl named Haruka answered brightly, looking up at the woman who seemed to be her—dare he say it— **assistant** , before grinning up at him. He felt a heaviness envelop his chest, and he returned her grin with a blank stare.

Wordlessly, the little girl then skipped towards the counter, that her head didn’t even reach, before looking at the menus overhead. All of Kei’s employees were equally awed and stupefied when their boss followed after the girl and crouched down to her height.

“ _Oi_ , _blondie,_ ” Kei greeted with mirth coloring his tone. “ _What can I get for you?”_

Instantly pouting, Haruka brought a few locks of her hair to the side of her face so she could examine it before looking up at the mop of equally blond hair on the tall man’s head. “ _You have blond hair, too, mister._ _And I’d like hot chocolate, please_.”

Silently, every one of Kei’s employees muffled their laughter and tried to hide their faces by ducking their heads and pretending to resume doing their tasks. It wasn’t every day that a little girl had one over their boss, and his expression told them that he did not appreciate being out-sassed by a girl that was only three and a half feet tall.

Narrowing his eyes at the pint-sized sass monster, he rounded the counter and operated the register. “ _That will be 300 yen._ ”

Hesitantly, Haruka reached into the rabbit purse that was slung across her torso before sliding the money over to the smirking Kei; if there was anything that the blonde toddler disliked, it was spending her own money. One could say that she took after her father in that aspect, with both of them being very stingy.

One of Kei’s employees immediately dashed towards the back of the bar and started making the beverage that Haruka had ordered. He looked down at the short kid before noting that her attention was not on him and was on the strawberry shortcake that was in the display counter.

He glanced at the girl, then back at the strawberry shortcake, then back at the girl again, before he sighed and got a small plate to place the slice that he was—dare he say it—going to share with the sassy little blonde. “ _I can’t finish this all by myself, so we can share._ ”

Instantaneously, the little girl’s eyes lit up with joy as she beamed and followed Kei towards one of the vacant tables by the front of the store. From behind the pair, Noriko—Haruka’s temporary babysitter, and one of (y/n)’s assistants—stood awkwardly without a clue on how she should tell her boss’ daughter that she shouldn’t be speaking to strangers, but her limited grasp of the English language hindered her from letting her charge know and understand what she wanted to say, so she opted to stay a couple of paces away and keep a cautious eye on the man who seemed to be the owner of the café.

“Mister, _is this shop yours?_ ” Haruka asked curiously as the tall man set down the plate of cake in front of her along with two forks.

Kei only grunted in reply, before actually speaking when she looked up and stared at him. “ _I’m also a doctor_.”

" _If you’re a doctor, then why are you here_?”

“ _Because I don’t have a job yet_.”

_"But you just said that you’re a doctor.”_

_“You’re annoying, blondie.”_

_“And you’re rude, Dr. Blondie._ ”

The rapport between the two came to a close after a few seconds, with both parties staring at each other with narrowed eyes and lips set into stern lines. They looked so alike that it seemed eerie to Noriko, but she shook the feeling off and chalked it up as a trick of the light.

Kei was close to snapping at the child across from him but, thankfully, her hot chocolate arrived and—to his utter befuddlement—she politely thanked his employee before gracefully taking the table napkin that had come along with the beverage, then flicked it off to her side before placing the cloth on her lap.

" _Oi, where are you from, blondie_?” Kei asked in curiosity. “ _You have an accent.”_

Haruka quirked an eyebrow at him, then started digging into the cake in front of her. She swallowed the food in her mouth before she answered, “ _I was born in England, Mister. Mummy and I moved here a week ago because she got a new job. And please stop calling me ‘Blondie’; my name is Haruka Tsukishima.”_

Kei’s eyes widened in shock at Haruka’s words. He knew that his surname was a fairly uncommon name, so he couldn’t rule out the possibility that she could be Akiteru’s daughter. It had been a while since he’d heard from his brother, and he didn’t recall ever hearing his brother talk about having had a child, so this came as a shocker to him. “ _Where’s your dad?”_

“ _I don’t know. My mum doesn’t like to talk about him_ ,” Haruka answered nonchalantly before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

“Good morning, welcome to Café Yuki,” the café employees greeted simultaneously, which had Kei, Haruka, and Noriko looking over at the new visitor.

 _"Mummy!"_ Haruka practically jumped out of her seat before running over to her mother and latching on to her waist. (Y/n) giggled, ruffling her daughter’s hair then crouching down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “ _I made a new friend; he’s a doctor_!”

“ _What did I tell you about talking to strangers, huh?”_ (Y/n) admonished gently, tapping the tip of her daughter’s nose with her index finger, but getting up and following her daughter over to…

She had to blink twice to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. Her heart started beating so fast that she thought it was going to beat a hole through her chest, and her eyes glassed over with tears as her (e/c) eyes connected with those familiar golden brown irises that she still loved after all these years.

Kei was thankful that he was sitting down, because his whole body had gone cold and numb, and he was afraid that had he been standing up, he’d have made a fool of himself by collapsing in front of the woman that he still longed for. His lips trembled and his throat felt parched, totally at odds with his steady yet watery gaze.

Silence, then simultaneously…

"Kei…”

“(Y/n)…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, everyone! I am so sorry that this took so long to update. I've been busy cramming my exam practices/study sessions and my friends' requests to proofread their business plans, as well as their request for me to make ads and billboard designs for them. I don't really mind, but I'm close to snapping at them because I'm constantly tired and sleepless because of them.
> 
> Anyway, shoutout to em_n_m_e for being the amazing person she is. <3
> 
> I want to reply to all the messages in my inbox, but I think I need to sleep since I actually forgot that I had bad eyesight when I took off my glasses. I will reply after my nap. Sorry, and thank you for understanding. <3


	21. Starting Over Again

Looking into his eyes after six years was something that (y/n) had imagined during that time, but she’d pushed the notion aside because she knew that the chance would be one in a million; this was that one.

She blinked her tears back, avoiding her daughter’s confused look as she kept her gaze trained on the tall blond sitting a couple of paces away from her, fearing that the Kei before her was nothing but a product of her mind playing tricks on her again; and, as if to further negate her doubt, the bespectacled male gingerly stood up and took a hesitant step towards her. 

Kei’s hand reached out, his fingers shaky and cold, before he mustered up the courage to actually touch the soft, (skin color) colored skin that he’d missed so much. It was as if a spark had coursed through him at the moment his fingertips touched (y/n)’s arm; then, with a sob, Kei pulled the woman in front of him into his arms and buried his face into the crook of her neck as he cried out all of his pent up pain and grief throughout the years.

Hesitantly, (y/n) let her hands sidle up Kei’s back, before eventually curling around the crisp fabric of his white button down shirt. She bit her bottom lip to keep her chin from trembling, to no avail; a breathy sob escaped her lips and she buried her face in her ex-fiancé’s shoulder.

(Y/n) knew better than to hold Kei close like this and give him any form of false hope when she didn’t intend to let him know that Haruka was his, until it was absolutely necessary; her reasoning for wanting to keep that piece of information from him was one that she’d lamented over the years, tossing and turning all the pros and cons in her head, until she arrived at the conclusion that she didn’t want to ruin whatever life that he’d have made if they ever met again… that, and the fact that Kei was going to hate her for not telling him that he was going to be a father the moment she found out that she was pregnant.

There was nothing more that (y/n) wanted than for her daughter to finally meet the father that she’d been asking about all these years, but what if Kei already had another family? What if he was already married to some other woman he met at university? What if he had a better life than the one that was supposed to be shared with her? She couldn’t take all of that away from him; and she didn’t know if she could bear it if she knew that she and Haruka could never have Kei to themselves.

She didn’t want Haruka to have to feel like her father didn’t love her enough if he had another family to prioritize; (y/n) didn’t want her daughter to feel the way she did, and ask the questions she asked herself, when her father walked away. The thoughts haunted her up until she was old enough to know the real reason why her mother left her father, not the other way around, but it still didn’t take back the questions like ‘Am I not good enough?’, ‘Did I do anything wrong?’, or ‘Doesn’t papa love me anymore?’ that she’d asked herself when she was younger.

Still, she clung tighter on to Kei, screwing her eyes shut and pretending—even if for a moment—that he was still hers. 

“ _Mummy?_ ” Haruka’s words was like a wakeup call for (y/n); her eyes snapped open and she pulled herself away from Kei while wiping the tear streaks on her face as discreetly as possible to keep her daughter from questioning her about it.

From where he stood, Kei stared on in a mix of confusion and mild disbelief as the love of his life turned her attention away from him and on to the little girl who’d been sassing him all morning. He couldn’t deny the similarities between them, and for the little girl to call (y/n) ‘ _mummy’_ only cemented the fact that she was (y/n)’s daughter. In truth, it made his heart hurt badly.

“ _You know my doctor friend, mum_?” Haruka asked, tilting her head to the side in a manner that Kei found adorable even though he wanted to stop liking a child that was, possibly, not his; even though he couldn’t deny the fact that she had the same blond hair, the same pale skin, and the same golden brown eyes as him. Kei snuffed out the hope blooming in his chest before it could take root there. “ _He gave me some strawberry cake, mum! He’s amazing!”_

(Y/n) smiled down at her daughter, patting the top of her head affectionately before turning to Kei and asking, “You became a doctor?”

“ _Hai_ ,” the blond answered flatly, showing that he was not interested in idle pleasantries as if they had been mere acquaintances instead of an engaged couple.

The (h/c) haired woman sensed the tense atmosphere that was brewing and awkwardly cleared her throat as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, unintentionally flashing the diamond ring that she wore on her left ring finger. Kei took note of this, his eyes widening a fraction and his heart beating quickly—almost painfully—in his chest.

“You’re married?” The tall male asked quietly.

(Y/n) immediately cupped her right hand over the ring and held her hands close to her chest, as if doing so would reverse the fact that Kei had mistook her ring for a wedding ring. “I… _iie_. This was the engagement ring that… we… I was supposed to wear years ago.”

The admission wasn’t a lot in terms or word count, but it meant a lot to Kei; as it meant that (y/n) still thought of him after all these years… and that possibly, there could be a chance for them to be start over again. But one more question still rang through his mind: “Is Haruka… mine? Is she my daughter?”

She couldn’t answer; any other question would have been fine, but not this one. (Y/n) felt all eyes on her as she stood there with her trembling hands still clutched to her chest and her knees close to giving out beneath her.

“I… Haruka, _let’s go; mummy’s late for her meeting_ ,” (Y/n) tried to dodge the question—and Kei—altogether, even going as far as holding her daughter’s hand and turning away from the tall blond before her.

She was about to walk away, but Kei was quicker: he grabbed her hand and held on as tightly as he could without hurting her. Her reaction said it all: that Haruka was his, but (y/n) was afraid to admit it because of some factors that he could take a guess at; after all these years, he could still read her like an open book.

“If you’re afraid to tell me because you think that you’ll ruin my life, well… it stopped the day you left.” (Y/n) felt her lower lip trembling, and she bit down on it to push back the urge to cry as Kei continued, “Don’t take our daughter away from me. Please, (y/n). I’m begging you.”

At that request, the young mother’s tears started flowing from her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She could only nod as she looked down at her worried daughter. “ _Okaa-san_ , are you okay? Please don’t cry.”

(Y/n)’s eyes widened in shock at Haruka’s fluent Japanese, and she looked back at Kei before pulling him to stand beside her. “ _Have you been studying_ , Haruka?”

“ _Hai, okaa-san_. I’ve been studying really, really hard… but, _okaa-san_ , I always knew how to speak Nihongo,” the tiny blonde admitted guiltily, looking down at her feet and cutely touching her toes together.

(Y/n) was shocked, but far from angry at the admission. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because it always made you smile when I mixed English with Nihongo; I like it when you’re happy, _okaa-san_ ,” Haruka whispered, making her mother laugh and crouch down to pull her in for a hug.

“You little rascal; you’re as cunning as your father.” The word slipped so easily from her lips that (y/n) didn’t even notice that she’d said anything out of the ordinary as she savored the affection she received from her daughter.

Haruka, from (y/n)’s arms, looked up curiously at the bespectacled man that was asking if she were his daughter. Kei smiled down at her, his eyes a little watery with unshed tears, and Haruka opened her mouth to ask the question that had been lit her curiosity ever since she heard him ask about her. “Are you really my _papa_?”

Kei never knew that a simple word could bring a man like him to tears, but it did; and he nodded shakily as he knelt down and touched his daughter’s cheek from over her mother’s shoulder. “Yes, I am. I’m your _papa_ , Haru- _chan_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooo! I am back after failing my comprehensive exam because of uneven carrots; damn ACF standards. For those who don't know, my comprehensive exam is kind of like a certification exam for us culinary students; meaning I'll have a C.C. (Certified Culinarian) title after my name if I pass; there will be a retake on the 25th, so wish me luck. <3
> 
> I am so sorry if this took so long to write and post up. I wish I could have been quicker with the update, but things were hectic with me practically staying on campus to practice my skills and my dish. :<
> 
> Also, I decided to bump up the chapter count to 25 instead of making the next chapter the last chapter, because I think that there should be more cutesy scenes between Kei and Haruka. Ya feel me? :)
> 
> Thank you, everyone, for your patience and your support. I could never thank you guys enough. <3


	22. Grow Old With You

“ _Mama_ , are we going to see _papa_ today?” The adorable little blonde asked chirpily from her seat at the dining table. She didn’t look up from the chopsticks that she was having difficulty holding in her hand, and tried to precariously balance the metal sticks the way her mother had taught her.

Haruka’s question put a pause in (y/n)’s motions; tensing up a little and blushing as she tried to calm her suddenly racing heart. If the mere mention of Kei was still enough to have her acting like she did when she first realized that she loved him, then she had a lot more to prepare for, because today she and Kei were going to take their daughter to the amusement park. “If you finish your breakfast, we might.”

With a whoop of excitement, Haruka set her chopsticks down on the holder that her mother had set on the table and opted to use the knife and fork that were set to her left; it was such a hassle trying to raise Haruka in Japan when she’d grown up with Western habits and principles, but (y/n) hoped that it would all work out in the end.

It had been a day since the meeting at the coffee shop, and it was safe to say that her nerves were still shot from that encounter; never in the six years that she’d been away had she thought that actually meeting Kei would be a possibility, but it seemed that fate had other things planned for their little family. It wasn’t clear where she and Kei stood, but what he made very clear to her was that he wanted to be in his daughter’s life after already missing all five years of it.

He’d tried to set up this little get-together for yesterday, but she had to decline as she had a meeting with a company that she was planning to purchase, so it was moved to today; it made (y/n) guilty that she had to take a day away from the father-daughter duo, but—as much as Kei wanted to spend time with his daughter— he didn’t want to go without (y/n).

In the end, postponing the trip was for the better since Kei had an abrupt call from the hospital that he’d applied at for his residency, and had to sign a couple of papers. He was only a few days away from starting his residency; he didn’t know whether he was excited or dreading it now that he had Haruka and (y/n) to consider.

“We’re going to see _papa_! _I’m so excited_!” Haruka squeaked out happily, bowing her head in thanks after finishing her breakfast then running up to her mother and tugging at said mother’s knee-length skirt. “Are you excited to see him, _mama_?”

 **Was she?** (Y/n) didn’t have a verbal answer, but she felt her heart race even faster in chest and her lips started curling up at the corners in a barely restrained smile. “You better get dressed; he’s going to be here in a couple of minutes to pick us up.”

As if her words had sent an electric current through her, (y/n) practically bolted up from where she was leaning against the kitchen counter and started running her hands over her clothes, willing them to magically transform her homely outifit into the cuter clothing items in her closet.

 

***

 

(Y/n) kept checking in the full-body mirror in her closet if her cream colored light sweater, black leggings, and ankle-length lace up boots were cute enough not to seem frumpy while still being modest enough for a day out with her daughter and supposed-husband. It wasn’t a date, by any means, but it didn’t hurt to dress up a little for herself… and maybe because she wanted to impress Kei; just a little bit, though.

The doorbell downstairs rang, the sound echoing throughout the expansive house that (y/n)’s grandparents had left to her mother, who—subsequently—left it to her. Haruka joyously started squealing and jumping up and down in excitement as she ran through the halls to reach her mother’s room. 

“ _Mama_ , _papa_ ’s here!” The five-year-old girl stated happily, peeking her head through (y/n)’s open door and beaming at the (h/c) haired woman who was only exiting her closet with a self-conscious look on her face. “You look so pretty, _mama_.”

“Really? Thank you, Haruka,” (y/n) answered softly, smiling warmly at her daughter as she gave herself another once-over through the black screen of the television mounted to the wall at the foot of her bed.

“ _Papa_ ’s going to think you’re the most beautiful lady ever!” The tiny blonde piped up, stretching her arms above her head to emphasize her point.

(Y/n), however happy she was to see her daughter so active, suddenly fell flustered as a blush crawled on to her face and colored her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip to keep a hopeful grin from stretching her lips up at the corners, but asked, “Really? You think he’ll like it?”

“I **know** so, _mama_.” Haruka winked. “He might even give you a kiss!”

“Haruka!” The (h/c) haired woman scolded halfheartedly as she ducked her head to hide her aflame face from her daughter. “Let’s go; your _papa_ doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

With that, (y/n) held her hand out for her daughter to take before they both sauntered out of the room and trekked down the stairs and to the living room where the tall blond _megane_ was lounging, rather impatiently, if the mother-daughter pair could add.

“ _Papa_!” Haruka called happily, letting go of her mother’s hand and racing towards Kei, whom sat upright and tried to subdue the grin that was trying to make its way on to his face; he couldn’t help it, he dropped his guard and let himself relish in the feeling of being truly happy after all these years. “ _I missed you_!”

Kei didn’t think too much on his actions, he opened his arms and scooped his daughter up into them and perched her on his lap, while she hugged him back and squeezed tightly; as if holding him any looser would make him disappear.

“You did, huh?” Kei patted his daughter’s back gently with both hands before cupping his palms around the top of her head and peppering her forehead with kisses. He didn’t know where exactly the affection came from, but it wasn’t entirely unwanted; just a tad embarrassing coming from someone like him. “ _Papa_ missed you, too, Haru- _chan_.”

He’d never even considered having any children—not even when he and (y/n) realized their feelings for each other and decided to take the engagement seriously—and now, having Haruka here, made him realize all the wrong notions he’d had back then. He didn’t want any sort of life without his ex-fiancé and their daughter and, damn it, he would do anything and everything to keep them.

(Y/n) looked on at the scene playing out in front of her, feeling her eyes moisten with unshed tears and blinking said tears back. She stood there idly, admiring the father-daughter pair and waiting for either one of them to look up and include her in their circle; yes, she wanted to be included, no matter how much it would hurt in the end if Kei wanted only Haruka in his life.

She willed Kei to look up from their daughter and beckon her over; she wished he would take her in his arms and hold her close like he did yesterday. She wanted so badly for that to happen and, in the end, Kei did look up and offered her a shy smile before lifting a hand up and waving her over. “Come here. I’ve missed you, too, (y/n).”

 

***

 

The trip to the amusement park was a long one, what with Kei’s extra safe driving hindering them from going faster than 60 mph or even overtaking other cars on the road; Haruka found it mildly annoying that they couldn’t get there faster, while (y/n) saw the overly careful act as adorable.

Once they’d gotten the tickets and had gone inside the park, Haruka immediately made a bee line for the carousel that was located towards the middle of the park. She held a map in her tiny hands as she navigated through the crowd of tourists and locals alike, making Kei frantically follow after his daughter with (y/n) beside him.

“Haruka!” The young—and mildly panicked—mother called out, trying to get a glimpse of her daughter by jumping up and looking over peoples’ shoulders, until she felt a hand encircle her wrist and pull her along.

“Come on, (y/n),” Kei muttered softly, looking away from his ex-fiancé to hide the blush that was coloring his cheeks. “Haruka, don’t run!”

(Y/n) felt her heart start pounding in her chest as a familiar warmth crawled on to her face as she looked down at the pale hand that was dragging her along. It had been years since she’d felt Kei’s touch, but the spark that she felt with him did not diminish one bit.

If this was how most of the day was going to play out, she was going to be in a for a long and bumpy ride, but she—admittedly—anticipated it.

 

***

 

“She fell asleep?” (Y/n) asked softly from where she sat next to Kei in the cramped space of the ferris wheel carriage.

The blond looked back at her, cradling their daughter closer to him as he moved closer to the woman across from him. “She’d been running around all day,” he answered simply, by way of explanation.

“True-”

“I still love you,” Kei blurted out without much finesse, pursing his lips and closing his eyes as soon as the words left his lips. “I… I tried to go on with my life… there have been others, but I could never replace you. I couldn’t even stomach the thought of touching anybody else but you, (y/n).”

(Y/n) opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again when she saw that Kei was about to add something else.

“What I’m trying to say is… I want you, and Haruka; I want my family with me. I want to watch our daughter grow up and support her in whatever she does, and—most of all—I want to grow old with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!!!!! I wish I could stay and chat, but I have to get back to practicing.
> 
> I promise that I will reply to ALL messages after I finish doing all my planned tasks for tonight. Thank you so, so much for being patient with me! <3


	23. Complete

Growing old was a concept that (y/n) had thought about constantly and had come to accept, but growing old with **Kei** —the man who was the father of her child, and the man who was supposed to be her husband? She’d never factored him in after leaving for England all those years ago; he was something akin to a guilty pleasure for her, and she would sometimes let her mind wander to thoughts of him and what could have been, but would inevitably stop herself before she went too far. He used to be something that was barely out of reach back then, but now he was all hers for the taking; he’d admitted so yesterday during his little spiel. 

It irked her that she hadn’t seized the opportunity to tell him that yes, she wanted to be with him as well; but she had to let her trepidations keep her from saying the words that were on the tip of her tongue. So now, here she was, getting bothered by these thoughts while in the middle of a very important business meeting with the Kurosawa Publishing Group representatives.

She’d been regretting telling Kei that she was sorry and that she had to think about it; and she’d also been wanting to slap herself numerous times for actually letting her mouth run off. She knew that she didn’t deserve the chance to turn down Kei after what her mother did to them, and what she’d ultimately did to him. (Y/n) knew all those things, yet she still chose to hurt him… again.

“Madam?” One of (y/n)’s secretaries—Minagawa Akane—spoke up softly but firmly, shaking the (h/c) haired woman from her thoughts.

“I- I apologize, Minagawa- _san_ ,” (y/n) stated sincerely, bowing her head to her employee before rising from her seat and full-on bowing at the corporate representatives before her. “I’m deeply sorry, everyone, but an urgent family matter has come up.”

(Y/n) couldn’t care less if she didn’t get the deal with Kurosawa; all she wanted to do now was set things right with Kei. And so, after grabbing her purse and phone, she walked out of the conference room with her head held high and her back ramrod straight with all the dignity she could muster, before she started sprinting down the halls like a madwoman.

“Kyōsuke, get the car ready, _stat_ ,” (y/n) barked into her phone as she raced for the elevator. She wasn’t one to give orders so rudely—and Kyōsuke knew that after all the years he’d been serving as her personal assistant—which had the older man scratching the back of his head in confusion as he got into the driver’s seat of the car and went to fetch his mistress at the entrance of the building.

Once the familiar car pulled up by the revolving doors, (y/n) immediately sprinted towards it and practically hurled herself into the spacious interior of the luxury sedan. “Kei’s café, Kyōsuke, please. Quickly.”

“Why the hurry, madam?” The raven-haired man asked as he drove away from the curb and onto the bustling roads. “Is the young mistress in trouble?”

“Haruka’s fine… it’s… me; I’m the one with the problem, Kyōsuke.” No matter how (y/n) tried to silence herself from prattling on with her problems, she couldn’t stop; and she, honestly, was past the point of filtering her thoughts because this was Kyōsuke that she was talking to—the man who’d been her confidante ever since she moved to England. “I’ve been really stupid and selfish. I want nothing more than for Haruka and I to be with Kei, but I let myself be backed into a corner by my own insecurities and fears.”

(Y/n) took a deep breath to calm her already frazzled nerves, then slumped back against her seat in a fashion that was so far from the refined and meticulous actions that she had to learn right after her mother had passed; it reminded of her of much lighter times, and a much younger version of herself that was forced to mature quickly in order to handle a fluctuating empire.

Kyōsuke remained silent at the wheel, waiting for his mistress to get everything out of her system before he put in his input, as he knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t going to listen to his sound reasoning when she was this fired up.

“But how do I tell him? Do I just come up to him and tell him ‘I want you, too!’ before I kiss him? That would be scandalous; not to mention scarring for Haruka if she saw,” (y/n) groaned and hit the back of her head against the headrest. “I should have told him when I dropped Haruka off with him this morning!”

Minutes passed with (y/n) repeating the same tirade over and over in so many terms and words; until she noticed that the cars around her were also at a standstill. She sat up and brushed herself off, before looking around and assessing the cause of the traffic jam. “What’s going on? Of all the days to have traffic, it had to be now when I’m about to confess my undying love to my ex-fiancé and my nerves are already shot to hell as it is?”

Kyōsuke suppressed a chuckle, covering the sound with a cough before he turned to his boss through the rearview mirror. “Madam, if you’re worried that Kei- _sama_ won’t accept you or your confession, then you have another thing coming. Not once has he forgotten you; he even adopted Yuki after you moved to England.”

“He **what**? So, that’s why I couldn’t bring Yuki with me! You said that someone… adopted… her.” The truth of her words sank in to (y/n) and suddenly, her eyes had begun filling with tears. “Dear _Kami-sama_ , Kei! That man is going to be the death of me.”

Silence blanketed over the pair for a handful of seconds, with only the blaring of horns and the muffled sounds of drivers shouting at the numbskull at the very front of the lines filling the hush inside the car.

(Y/n) looked outside the windows again, finding any familiar marker to let her know if she was close enough to walk to Kei’s café; luckily, she saw the familiar frozen yogurt shop across the street and practically jumped out of the car. “I’ll meet you there, Kyōsuke. Thank you!”

With a slam of the door behind her, the business suit-clad woman started darting through the cars that were at a standstill. She reached the sidewalk with a loud huff before she glared down at her stilettos; she had always been fond of the shoe-type, but now she loathed them with a passion as she felt the pointed ends pinching her toes uncomfortably and the thin heel practically digging into her sole.

“Of all the times to wear heels!” She griped before sucking it up and breaking out into a power walk that was bordering a jog. “Ow, ow, ow.”

(Y/n) expertly dodged the oncoming crowd, giving her a wave of nostalgia from her days shopping for baby clothes in Oxford Street. Of course, this was light compared to the onslaught of people there—especially during the Christmas season—which (y/n) was thankful for; she had to be thankful for any blessing that she received, especially now.

A block and a multitude of people later, the (h/c) haired woman finally saw her ex-fiancé’s shop a few paces away, which gave her the final burst of energy to power through the pain digging into her feet and roughly push the double glass doors open.

The bell attached to the doors chimed violently, which gathered the attention of all the customers in the restaurant, as well as Haruka—who chimed ‘ _Mummy!’_ at the sight of her _—_ who was sitting at a table with her father, brand new coloring books and crayons strewn all over every inch of the flat surface between them.

“I want you, too, Tsukishima Kei!” (Y/n) declared boldly as she gripped the handlebars of the glass doors tightly in her hands.

The blond looked up dumbly at his ex-fiancée, blinking slowly as if he couldn’t quite believe the sight playing in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak, and closed it again as he continued to stare at the love of his life.

“I want to grow old with you as well; I want to know what could have been between us. I want everything that life has to offer me with you; I don’t care if we’re going to fight like we did when we were younger, I don’t care if we live in a small house, and I don’t care what my mother has said about you. I want to marry the man that I was supposed to marry all those years ago; I want to marry the same man whom I still love after all these years. I need you in my life—our daughter needs you, too.”

Blushing madly, Kei sat stock still in his chair as the onlookers in his café gazed at him and (y/n) who were staring intently at each other. He wanted to get up and wrap his arms around the woman he loved, but his legs weren’t exactly cooperating with him at the moment; his legs were cold and numb, as if he went ten rounds with Shiratorizawa. “I… I…”

“Say yes, boss!” Kei’s employees chorused. Normally, they would stay out of their boss’ private business, but this time called for their intervention.

“ _Papa_ , get up,” Haruka dropped the crayon that she was holding and leapt out of the chair that she was in, in order to grab her father’s hand and pull him up and out of his seat. “ _Mummy_ ’s waiting for you!”

Gingerly, the blond patted his daughter’s head and offered her a small smile before he took a shaky step forward; before he knew it, he was in front of (y/n) and staring deeply into the same (e/c) eyed that he’d missed so much.

“You insufferable woman,” Kei murmured before pulling (y/n) forward and slanting his lips over hers in a searing kiss that shook him all the way to his bones. Nothing could compare to the bliss that he was feeling now; finally, he was complete. "Stay with me forever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PASSED! Omg. I apologize for taking so long to update, but I had to take some time off and just relax after passing my exam. It's not official yet, but I now have a C.C. title at the end of my name! YASSSS. I was crying so much when the chefs told me that I passed, since they were telling me all the bad points of my dish and my skills, and my mentor even told me, "What did we agree on if you didn't pass? You wouldn't talk to me if you failed, right?" And that's when the waterworks started, until they all cracked some smiles and told me to just get some SA points (kind of like house points in Harry Potter) so I can graduate.
> 
> Anyway, how have all of you been? Tell me stories! Please!
> 
> Thank you for being so patient with me. I promise I'll update more frequently now. :D <3


	24. Wife

Firsts were always a nightmare to deal with; it could be any kind of first: first kiss, first day at work, first love, and so many more firsts… but to deal with first children? Kei felt that his first 18-hour shift at the hospital was a walk in the park compared to dealing with Haruka during one of her moods.

It had been two weeks since (y/n) had come barging into the shop with her declaration of love for the tall blond, and it had been a week since she and Haruka had moved in with him to his apartment. Kei had insisted that he was the one who was going to move in to (y/n)’s ancestral home, but the young mother thought that Kei had adjusted enough for her and their daughter, so it was their turn to adapt for him.

“Haruka, turn that down, please,” (y/n) called from the kitchen as she was preparing lunch. The five year-old, clearly ignoring her mother’s request, sprawled down on the floor and closed her eyes to let Elvis’ Love Me Tender caress her young ears. “I can’t hear myself think.”

It wasn’t often that Haruka acted spoiled, but when she did, it was always because her mother was asking her to turn down her music; she liked to play her music aloud, while her mother preferred for it to play softly in the background. The vast differences in their preferences always put the two at odds with each other, which the toddler always won. (Y/n) had always been in a love/hate relationship with the fact that her daughter took mostly after her father; even her music preference.

“Why? It’s a good song,” Kei cut in confusedly as he stepped into the kitchen with a towel slung over his shoulders, which he must have used to dry his still-damp hair.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes at the blond’s query, mentally raising her white flag in surrender, as she knew that there was no way that she was going to win this argument. “Your daughter takes after you so much; sometimes it’s frightening how alike the two of you are.”

Kei chuckled quietly, while casually placing his hands on both sides of his lover’s waist and peering over her shoulder to see what she had been making. “Spaghetti?”

“Puttanesca,” (y/n) corrected. “Haruka liked it so much when we had it in Italy that she always asked me to make it for her after that trip.”

“Is she well-travelled?”

The (h/c) haired woman nodded and smiled fondly up at Kei. “She is. But you know what she always looked for in every place we went to?”

“A café that had hot chocolate?” Kei asked, mirth lightening his features before he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against (y/n)’s lips.

“You.” The woman answered softly. “Every time we would go somewhere, she would always ask, ‘Is papa going to be there?’, ‘Are we going to see papa?’, or ‘Will papa see us at the airport?’ I didn’t have the courage to tell her that no, her papa wasn’t going to be there because he didn’t even know about her. I feel like the worst mother now that I think about it.”

Kei surprised both himself and (y/n) when he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, before swaying both of them gently from side to side. “You only did what you thought was right at the time, I can’t blame you for that; in a way, you were thinking about my wellbeing as well; so, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

He peppered her temple with kisses, then drifted down to her cheek where he lingered for a short while, before eventually wandering down to the crook where her neck met her shoulder; and to further surprise (y/n), Kei started whispering the lyrics of the song against her skin, which sent chills running up and down her spine.

“Love me tender, love me dear, tell me you are mine,” A kiss to her already heated skin. “I’ll be yours through all the years, ‘til the end of time.”

“I pro-” (y/n) was about to answer, when a loud crash in the living room made the couple jump apart in surprise.

“ _Mama_! _Papa_!” Haruka screeched at the top of her lungs before letting out a bloodcurdling scream that had her parents racing to where she was.

There, standing on one of the couches with her hands tucked close to her chest, was Haruka with a terrified expression on her angelic face. “ _Papa_ , there’s a _cockroach_!”

It was as if there was a statue in front of (y/n) when she reached out to push her blond lover forward, and she almost face palmed when she remembered that—like his daughter—he was also afraid of the little insects.

Something brown and small crawled quickly over the white walls, which had Haruka screaming once more as she jumped off the couch and clung on to her father’s waist as if her life depended on it.

(Y/n) looked up once more at Kei, sighing when she saw that he was now slightly pale; she found it amazing that a man who constantly saw and touched the innards of people could be brought to his knees by a mere cockroach. She reached down to get her fluffy, indoor slipper before dashing forward as quietly as possible, then gently swatting the brown insect that was clinging to the wall.

It fell to the ground with a silent thud, and (y/n) quickly ripped a sheet of paper from the notepad that she kept by the phone in the room to scoop up the carcass and toss it into the small trash bin. “Honestly, what would you two do without me?”

The question was meant to be a rhetoric one, but Kei answered, “I’d be lost without you.”

(Y/n)’s face instantaneously burned red at the cheeks and she ducked her head to hide her face. “ _B-baka_ , Kei.”

Kei chuckled, putting a hand on top of his daughter’s head—whom was still wrapped around his waist—before walking forward and tilting (y/n)’s face up by her chin. “So please, marry me so that I’d never be lost ever again.”

“You make it sound like you’re a dog,” (y/n) mumbled under her breath as she tried to calm her racing heart.

“I’m not hearing a ‘no’; help me out here, Haru- _chan_ ,” Kei implored his daughter’s aid with one of his sheepish smiles that were reserved exclusively for the tiny, girl version of him.

Haruka looked up at her mother with puppy dog eyes and pouted lips, rendering the older woman dumbstruck. “Please, _mummy_?”

“Y- yes. Okay! I’ll marry you!”

 

***

 

“Are you sure that you won’t be late for your shift at the hospital?” (Y/n) asked worriedly as she straightened out a wrinkle in Kei’s button down shirt. “I don’t know what goes on at school introductions, but I’m guessing that they’re long and tedious.”

“I don’t have to go in until two in the afternoon,” the blond answered softly, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his fiancée’s ear. “I can make time for our daughter and you.”

The (h/c) haired woman smiled fondly at her fiancé, leaning up to brush her lips against his in a chaste kiss, pulling away just in the nick of time because Haruka came bounding into the kitchen with Kyōsuke in tow.

“Madam, Kei- _sama_ , your car is ready outside,” the middle-aged man stated softly but firmly. “Please do not hesitate to call me if any scheduling conflicts arise.”

“Okay, thank you, Kyōsuke,” Kei answered, looking into the other man’s gaze and giving him a slight nod. “For everything.”

“It is my pleasure to serve my mistress and her family, sir,” Kyōsuke replied before bowing deeply and making his exit.

After double-checking if they had all of their things, the small family waltzed out of their apartment and made their way to the sleek, silver sedan that was Kei’s car. The couple buckled their daughter in the back seat before proceeding to their own seats at the front of the car.

“I’ve been wanting to ask, but… why a café?” (Y/n) asked curiously as her lover started the car and pulled out of his parking space.

Kei pondered the question for a handful of seconds, wondering if he should tell her the truth or just one version of it; he decided for the whole truth. “I was always hoping that I would see you again; I just raised the odds of that happening. When I was in _Todai_ , I worked as a barista to support myself, since… my fa- well, it only seemed natural for me to open up my own café after that. I did some research and found out that the main branch of your family’s conglomerate is in Ikebukuro, so I placed the shop there, hoping that one day you’ll stumble right in; and I was right, though it was Haruka that stumbled in first.”

(Y/n) smiled warmly, discreetly sliding her hand over the middle console to squeeze Kei’s hand that was resting idly on the gear shift. “I’m glad to know that some things haven’t changed; you’re still perceptive as ever.”

The blond didn’t answer her verbally, instead, he flipped his hand and laced their fingers together before bringing their intertwined hands up to kiss her knuckles.

“So… these other girls?” As much as (y/n) hated to ruin the solemn atmosphere between them, she had to ask the question that had been burning in her mind. “Who were they?”

Kei smirked, shaking his head slightly but not taking his eyes off of the road; he could practically see the green-eyed monster peering at him from behind his fiancée. “There were only two.”

The (h/c) haired woman couldn’t help the pout that twisted her lips, and she huffed irately as she narrowed her eyes at her lover. “Do I know them? Yachi- _san_ , most probably? Or Shizuoka- _san_ a block away from your old house?”

At that, Kei let out a loud guffaw; not only was it absurd of him to have dated the old lady who sold _dango_ near his childhood home, but Yachi- _san_? He liked Yachi as nothing more than a casual acquaintance, nothing more. “Fujiyoshi Amikiri was the second woman I dated after you; it was three years after you left, and we lasted for only two months.”

Against (y/n)’s will, her lips curled up at the corners in a malicious smile as she badgered Kei for more information. “Two months? Pray tell, Kei _my love_ , why did it end after only two months?”

The bespectacled male looked in the rear view mirror to check if his daughter was paying any attention to him and (y/n), but he mentally sighed in relief when he saw that she was busy admiring the high-rise buildings towering over them. “I…” his voice lowered to a whisper as a blush colored his cheeks a warm red. “Couldn’t touch her without seeing your face.”

Instantaneously, (y/n)’s smile turned into one full of smugness, and she answered, “Did you kiss her?”  
  
“Gods no,” Kei balked, then chuckled as he continued. “Maybe that’s one of the reasons why she hated me so much when I broke up with her.”

(Y/n) let out the laughter that had been threatening to overflow within her, and both her fiancé and daughter shared an exasperated glance in the rear view mirror; some things really didn’t change. “Tsk tsk, my Kei didn’t put out.”

“Would you have preferred it if I did?” The blond shot back a tad irritably, side glancing at the mirthful woman sitting next to him and gripping his hand tightly.

“What? No!” (Y/n) cried out, leaning over the center console and pressing her lips to Kei’s cheek, before sitting back down. “I would maim any woman who dared to lay a kiss on those lips of yours. The second one didn’t, did she?”

“No, thankfully, because I don’t even remember her name."

The statement put pause to (y/n)’s small celebration, and she looked at Kei with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. “Excuse me? Explain to me, Kei; this is much more interesting than the other woman.” 

“I don’t know if it’s just you, or if it applies to women in general, but you sure are a masochist. I don’t remember her name because I never asked for it in the first place; Yamaguchi set me up on a blind da-”

“Yamaguchi?” The question was spoken so softly and coldly that it made chills run down Kei’s spine. “ **He** set you up on a date? A **date**? To replace **me**? **KEI**!”

“Are you done emphasizing words now?” Kei asked with a roll of his eyes.

“I feel betrayed,” (Y/n) pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and looking out the window to sulk. “Yamaguchi, of all people, would set you up on a date to replace **me** —the greatest blessing in your life.”

“You’re being childish, (y/n); we already have a cheeky five year-old, we don’t need another one.”

“But, Kei~”

“That’s all in the past; he meant well, so forgive and forget, okay?” Kei tried to placate his pouting fiancée, feeling equally happy and disgruntled that she had retained that bright and somewhat childish personality of hers that he loved.

He thought about it for a little bit, and came to the conclusion that no, he wouldn’t change anything about her for the world; not a little bit.

 

***

 

Kei had developed a strong belief in fate after he’d been reunited with (y/n)—and Haruka—but now he was cursing that same belief as his fiancée pulled him and their daughter by the hands towards the one woman he’d wished to never see again: Fujiyoshi Amikiri.

He knew that his old flame was a teacher, but he never bothered to ask her teaching demographic; now he knew that she taught little children. He wasn’t afraid to see her again per se, but it was more like he was afraid that (y/n) would put two and two together and immediately lash out at the other woman, because he knew (y/n) and he knew her well; there was no saying what she was going to do, as it was a contest between a headlock and a tackle.

“Maybe it’s not too late to transfer Haru- _chan_ to a better school,” the blond muttered as he pulled his fiancée’s hand back to stop her in her tracks.

Haruka looked up at her father then, golden brown eyes reflecting innocence on the surface, but pure wisdom and shrewdness underneath. “Why, papa?”

“I just think that-” He couldn’t finish his sentence, since (y/n) cut him off with a rough tug at his hands as she pulled him forward once more.

“Come on, Haruka, help me with your papa.” Together, they pulled him towards the main entrance where his ex-flame was standing with a roster in her hands.

Looking up at the sky, he closed his eyes in a silent prayer to whichever deity wasn’t having laughs at his expense. “Help me, please.”

“Good morning! Mrs. (L/N), I presume,” Fujiyoshi Amikiri greeted amicably as Kei kept his face and hoped that she wouldn’t notice him.

“It’s still Miss (L/N), but soon-to-be Mrs. Tsukishima,” (Y/n) offered her hand out, which the other woman accepted with trepidation. “Nice to meet you, Miss… um…”

“Fujiyoshi Amikiri.”

At hearing the name, (y/n)’s eyes narrowed at the petite brunette before her and she immediately tucked her hand into the crook of Kei’s elbow to bring him forward. “This is **my** fiancé—Tsukishima Kei; and this is our daughter—Tsukishima Haruka.”

In a manner that was obviously fake, Amikiri smiled at Haruka and knelt down to her height as she talked to her. “ _Hello there,_ I’m going to be your English teacher; it’s _very nice to meet you_ , Haruka.”

“ _The pleasure is all mine, teacher_ ,” Haruka answered, her thick English accent coming out and shocking the woman before her.

“She grew up in England,” (y/n) answered—a tad smugly—by way of explanation as she traipsed into the building with her family in tow. “ _We can show ourselves to the auditorium_ , Fujiyoshi- _san_.”

With that, (y/n) let out a giggle that had Kei and Haruka sharing another look, as both of them knew just how bad the beloved hearth of their home could get.

“Your mama’s quite the handful, isn’t she?” Kei muttered under his breath, to which Haruka answered with a laugh and nod.

His wife was going to keep him on his toes so much that he’d have to traipse carefully if he wanted a blissful marital life.

 _Wife_. He quite liked that title for (y/n), and he couldn’t wait until he officially got to call her so.

“I heard that!” Said woman craned her neck to look at the father-daughter pair with narrowed eyes.

Yeah. He was excited to finally marry the love of his life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh! Oh no, I think I'm gonna cry! The next chapter will be the epilogue and I'm just so sad that this is going to be over. :( No time for tears now, though; I'll save that for the next one.
> 
> On another note, I'm going to be doing the sequel to my Oikawa fanfic (Gravitation) as promised. I just recently had the ideas to push through with it and yeah, I can't wait to write everything down; I just hope I don't forget anything good since I don't do plot summaries or notes. I just play everything by the ear, according to what I'm feeling that day. So yeah, that would explain the rollercoaster-esque ride you've just been on. I apologize sincerely.
> 
> See you guys in the last one!!!!! Shoutouts to em_n_m_e and otakuchips. <3


	25. Epilogue

“If doctors were as handsome as you, I’d never want to leave the hospital.” A loud guffaw followed the flirtatious words, making (y/n) curl her lip in disgust while mimicking the woman who was flirting with her husband. “Say, are you single?”

 _Way to be subtle. NOT_. The (h/c) haired woman tapped her stiletto-clad foot against the floor, then looked down at the neatly wrapped bento that she was carrying. She knew that she should have followed her gut instinct that had been telling her that Kei was still doing his rounds.

“I’m happily married,” Kei looked towards the hallway where his wife of six years stood, rather impatiently, with a slight pout on her lips. “To that woman over there.”

“Wasn’t she on the news last ni-”

Before his patient could finish, Kei cut her off, “So, you have to take it easy for the next couple of days; avoid moving too much or else the stitches on your chest will tear; I’ll see you tomorrow morning to check if things are healing nicely.”

The blond bowed briefly, sighing under his breath when he managed to escape that room before the woman brought up the report on the event where his wife announced to him—and the world—that she was pregnant with their third child; the news had come as a shock to him, which made him faint in the middle of the crowd, thus making him want to avoid the subject matter altogether.

“What are you doing here? You might get sick,” Kei said in greeting, taking the bento that (y/n) held out to him, before he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pressed his lips to her temple.

“Yoshi wanted to see the babies with Haruka; he thinks he can pick out what his baby brother or sister will look like.” The woman answered with a giggle, snuggling into her husband and ignoring the jealous leers of some of the on-duty nurses. It wasn’t a secret that Kei was handsome, but sometimes (y/n) wished that she could put a paper bag over his head to keep other women from admiring him a little **_too much_**. “Plus, I missed my darling husband.”

He’d made it known many times during (y/n)’s pregnancy that he didn’t like the name ‘Yoshi’, but had to give in to his wife’s request to name their son Yoshihiro, because she started to pout and summon those crocodile tears of hers that always got him every time.

“And the bento?” Aforementioned husband raised the bento slightly and smiled as he looked down at his bubbly wife; he still found it amazing to find himself still falling for her even after all these years.

“A client gave some _unagi_ yesterday and I just had to cook it; plus Kyōsuke just got back this morning from Hyōgo, and he bought _Matsusaka_ beef for us,” (Y/n) explained chirpily, looping her arms through Kei’s free one, and following him to his office.

“Decadent,” the blond commented mirthfully, shaking his head at his wife’s very… indulgent taste in food. “Very decadent.”

“Would you rather eat Yoshi’s tamago, because I know that I still have his breakfast bento in the car,” (y/n) threatened, reaching out to grab the bento in Kei’s hand, only for her to trip and practically drape herself over her husband.

Luckily, Kei managed to catch her, and held her close to him as he practically carried her into his office. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep wearing those damn heels.”

“You didn’t say that about them last night.” In a bold move, (y/n) reached down and fondled Kei’s behind—rather aggressively—which made the tall blond squeak in surprise and take a step away from his wife that had started kneading his buttocks.

“(Y/n)!” He reprimanded—rather halfheartedly—as a blush warmed his cheeks.

Said woman laughed, taking her hands off of her lover and taking a few steps back to lean against his desk. “Fine, if you don’t want it that much…”

“Trust me, there’s nothing I want more than to be-”

“ _Mama, papa_! I know what I want my sister to look like!” Yoshi came bounding into the room with an out-of-breath Haruka being lugged around behind him. “I want her to have brown eyes… and yellow hair like _nee-chan_ ’s!”

“I told them to meet us in your office,” (y/n) said, by way of explaining how their children knew where to go. She then turned towards the now eleven year-old Haruka and gave her a thumbs up. “Good job on getting him to leave the nursery.”

“It wasn’t easy, _mama_ ,” Haruka answered with a laugh, letting go of her three-year-old brother’s hand and closing the door behind her.

Kei took a step back to get a better look at his family; smiling to himself as he recalled all of the hardships that he’d gone through to keep (y/n)—only to end up losing her after everything… and then being reunited with her in the end. He was glad that he’d still held on to her even after all those years, because he would not be standing where he was now if he’d chosen to let his heart love another; though he doubted that it could ever love anyone else other than his wife and their children.

“ _Papa_ ,” Haruka began softly—after much silent encouragement from her mother.

Kei looked towards his daughter and quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, Haru- _chan_?”

“ _Nee-chan_ wants to go on a date with Ryūji- _san_!” Yoshi exclaimed brightly, beaming up at his suddenly gloomy sister, then turning to his mother who was shaking her head while rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.

“A date?” Kei tested the word out on his tongue, and found that he didn’t like the taste of it; especially since it meant giving his daughter up to some boy who wasn’t worthy of her. If he had his way, she would already be on her way to a _Shinto_ shrine to become a shrine maiden. “ **No**.”

“But… Kei!”

“But… _Papa_!”

Both women simultaneously cried out in protest, their expressions turning to displeased frowns as they looked at the blond towering over them.

“We got engaged when we were fourteen, Kei! It’s just a date!” (Y/n) lamented, fighting for her daughter’s right to go out with the cute boy that asked her out on a date.

Kei opened his mouth to answer, only to be cut off by the intercom as well as his pager beeping, “Dr. Tsukishima to room 416, Code Blue. Dr. Tsukishima to room 416, Code Blue. Code Blue.”

“ **No** means no ** _,_** Haruka,” Kei answered, looking directly at his daughter before moving on to his wife. “We’ll talk about this at home.”

With that, Kei pressed quick kisses to the tops of his family’s heads, then practically ran out the door where nurses and other hospital staff were running in the halls towards the patient in 416.

“ _Mama_ ,” Yoshi called, tugging at (y/n)’s skirt and smiling up at her when she looked down. “ _Papa_ ’s so cool! I want to be like him.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, everyone! And goodbye to some of you who will not be reading the sequel to Oikawa's story—Gravitation, which I will be naming 'Polarity'; just Google what it means and you'll have the summary of the story. Hmmm, I hope you guys will like it. Next I'll be naming the second sequel: '9.8 m/s2'. AHAHAHA. Physics jokes. Forgive me.
> 
> Now, I've been thanking everyone from the start, but I want to take this time to let all of you know that I am sincerely, deeply grateful to all of you. I only started writing again (after a reaaaaaally long hiatus) because I wanted an outlet for my creative juices, but now I remember why I got into writing in the first place: because I love making people happy and whisking them away from the world even if only for a few minutes. I'm glad I got to share this story with you guys, and I hope to see you all in the next one.
> 
> I'm happy that I've made so many friends on here, and I hope to keep those friendships going, even though I can't always reply quickly. Thank you for your patience, guys. <3 —Jen.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! This is my new series. Obviously. Please tell me if you guys like it or if there are a couple of things that need to be changed. Thank you! xx -Jen


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